Street Meeting, Third

An Account of the Third Public Pleading, and the Mercies Granted

Our third street meeting took place on the promenade of the town proper's municipal hall. By a sad necessity, owing to violent unrest and protests that transpired in the region of Metro Manila, the local administration saw fit to shut the park down, intending to shield the area from the grievous vandalism. The preceding Sabbath saw a similar disappointment, as the site was closed for a night market, forcing us to retire to a nearby diner, where we might share a frugal meal and yet continue our fellowship with the message of the chronological events in the life of our Blessed Christ. Despite the rain throughout the first two of our public pleadings, we persisted in the work. And this past Sabbath, we were favored with a beautiful and serene weather, a gift sent directly from the hand of providence. 

It is with humble gratitude that I record the favor shown by the civil authorities, who informally permitted us to conduct our meeting upon this very ground, even though the area remained officially closed to the general public. Thus enabled, we were privileged to invite the few, curious souls who were within the bounds of the park to join us, offering them a comfortable seat that they might partake of the Word. Truly, the Lord makes a way where man has shut the door.

Our exposition of Luke 12:13-34 was intended for all present, considering both the needs of the saints and the condition of the common folk. My address was offered to them as fellow creatures of God, yet my deepest entreaty was made to them as immortal souls heading to eternity. 

Before the reading began, a group of six young adults seated themselves nearby. We extended to them an invitation to join our circle and offered them the Holy Scriptures without cost, yet they, as is often the case with the unconverted, politely declined to approach. Consequently, a brother went to them to deliver the Bibles personally into their hands. After being directed to the passage, they joined with me in reading the Word. In conversing with them regarding the practicality of the Scriptures and the utter futility of centering our short lives upon earthly things, the Word performed its mighty office: it uncovered the hidden sin of covetousness festering in their hearts, that root which gives rise to a debilitating fear of tomorrow. I offered no cold lecture, but spoke to them with the gentle concern one gives a dear friend, and presented unto them the offer of Christ. For in Him alone shall we secure true glory and eternal riches, as His many and great promises are altogether true and trustworthy.

A vendor, whose stall was stationed nearby, remained through the hour-long discourse, granting us the blessing of his undistracted attention, since no customers came to break his earnest focus. For his patience in lending an ear to the Lord's message, we recompensed him by purchasing his remaining goods, which we then distributed to the other listeners as a token of goodwill at the close of the gathering. I confess that even while the Word was upon my tongue, my mind was concurrently engaged in silent petition for the souls within earshot. During the plea, two more couples arrived and sat attentively before me, though the message was already half spent. Around us, various families paused in their errands, and children continued their play. Yet even in the distance, a solitary man was observed, sitting intently and directing his gaze toward our place of assembly. These were only the faces I was permitted to see. As in every instance of this spiritual labor, there were always those—the unseen auditors—who received the message, though their identity is known only to God. Such, indeed, is the mysterious and wide-reaching 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

Alas, the times are drastically changed. The hearts of those in our society have grown calloused to the true Gospel, having been inoculated by a different, humanistic doctrine commonly presented in its stead. This message is not new to the ears of the perishing, save only for the elect who shall receive the true Word. Though we find sheep still scattered among the sea of lost churchgoers, this number is but a mere fraction when set against the masses in remote places who have yet to hear of Christ.

In those far-off corners, the Lord’s harvest is swift, and entire villages are converted through God-sent missionaries; these converted souls then proceed to become missionaries unto other tribes. But in the city, few come, and fewer still feel the call to go. The gravity of the work that must continue through their conversion is simply not made known to them. It is a heavy truth that death to self is difficult to attain whilst living in comfort, and many Christians today are neck deep in ease and worldly comfort.

It is with this burdened heart that we have chosen to forego the sweet comforts of a roofed gathering, and to take the message of the Church practically outside to where the people are. This action serves a double purpose: it is both spiritual food and a living example for this small flock, teaching them exactly what must be done with the truths they have learned thus far.

I am well aware that this method may seem to run counter to established norms, yet I must state clearly that this is in no wise a departure from the institution of the Church, but rather an urgent emphasis upon its primary ordinance: to proclaim the Gospel witness unto the world. God Himself has ordained the Church to be the sole mouthpiece for the Good News, and we do not act independent of it, but labor entirely as a faithful part thereof. Yet, being unrecognized by the established societies grants us a singular liberty, freeing us from those obligations and worldly restraints that would inevitably hinder the work. I could not, in good conscience, disobey the clear voice of God which commissioned me for this very task.

The public proclamation of the Word of God is both the great need and the great neglect of this present age. The saved owe a mighty and solemn debt to the lost, to tell them of the Cross of Christ. And as the eternal difference between heaven and earth rests upon just one soul hearing of Christ and coming to the Cross, the results of our labor thus far have been greatly encouraging to the spirit.

Having come to the end of the message, I offered a short prayer and invited the audience to meet again upon the next Lord's Day. As I stepped down from the place of speaking, one of the young adults from the distant group was moved to come forward, to shake my hand, and to offer his sincere thanks. We learned that they were but passing by this very place after a rehearsal that afternoon, and thus were providentially made God's answer to our prayers. We had beseeched the heavens for souls to hear the Word, and the Lord did indeed send them forth to us.

While we were yet standing upon the ground of the lot, a man did approach me, full of humility, apologizing for his late arrival. This proved to be the same Roman Catholic gentleman who had engaged with us upon the very message delivered at our first public pleading. He assured me of his intention to be present at our next assembly. For this small hope, we can only pray, "May the LORD will," for He alone holds the hearts of men.

As I was exiting the bounds of the park, an attendant, whom I had not known was lending his ear to the testimony, drew near to my carriage window. His countenance was marked by deep reflection as he spoke these weighty words: "Thank you. Your words struck me hard. It was painful to hear. But they were true."

Let this day's humble account stand not as a memorial to our poor efforts, but as an eternal and unshakeable testament that God doth yet save, and that He accomplishes this great and glorious work through the faithful preaching of the Gospel. It is a settled and unassailable truth of divine providence that He sees to it, with meticulous care, that every generation of men shall stand before the Great White Throne fully aware, and totally without excuse, that at one appointed time in their brief, mortal lives, He sent forth the Good News of salvation to them. For Holy Scripture cannot be broken, and the solemn, terrifying truth remains as an awful beacon to both the saved and the unsaved: "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). The trumpet shall sound, and none shall sleep through the call. This is the weighty reason we dare not be silent.

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." Let us also engage in the labor that prepares the way for it.

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