Street Meeting, Fifth

The appointed passage for this Lord's Day, is taken from the Gospel of St. Luke, verses fifty-four through fifty-nine of the twelfth chapter. The night before found my mind in great distress, my thoughts so plagued by numbing distractions that I was sure to end empty in preparing a worthy exposition by daylight. Yet, through the Lord's great mercy, I continued to plead on my knees, and was at last enabled to begin the essential task of putting pen to paper. It was slow going, for the effort was multiplied by a crippled and painful finger that seemed to protest with each sentence. 

By nine in the morning the message was completed, and the children's class had already started. I was granted a further pleasure by listening to the instructions given by the beloved teachers to the young ones. I must confess I was greatly warmed in my heart by the devotion and care shown in the lessons prepared by the teachers. And to observe the bright enthusiasm with which the little ones engaged in the discussions and recitations on catechisms was a wonder to praise God for! Truly, their understanding of the subject matters was so sharp and advanced that one might have expected it from young people many years their senior, and with much more formal schooling than these dear children possess.

I awaited the close of the morning's lessons, that I might perhaps secure a short period of much-needed sleep before the clock should mark the hour of half-past one of our departure for the labors awaiting in Santa Maria. Yet, when I awoke, the heavens presented a dull, overcast sky, and I heard the clear, unwelcome patter of the rain. I could not but think that this was again a familiar trial: our circumstances these past weeks seemed an unavoidable occurrence, threatening to hinder our appointed gathering and compelling us to yield, yet again, to wet weather. But as the Lord has taught us, that matters beyond our human control must be yielded entirely to His hand, and that our part is simply to move forward with the necessary duty, so we determined to disregard the hindrance. Thus trusting, we proceeded to leave under a slight drizzle, to gather ourselves with the brethren at the place previously appointed. And so it was, that the Lord did confirm His hand upon us and indeed cleared the heavens for our work, yet only after we had fulfilled our obligation to trust Him and faithfully proceed. 

A further evidence of His hand was found at the appointed place: the local authorities were busy in preparation for the December festivals, and thus a multitude of workers were providentially available to hear the Gospel. These, coupled with the people that sought shelter beneath the public kiosk, provided a generous and attentive audience for the message we were sent to deliver.

Upon our arrival, my eyes were drawn to a gentle soul who sat humbly upon the ground beside me, a street-dweller moving from one temporary place to the next. The sight of him struck me, and I felt a strong compulsion to approach and make his acquaintance. What a marvelous discovery then unfolded! This man, despite his lack of worldly possessions, possessed a simple knowledge but deep affection for the Lord. He made the astonishing claim that since his twenty-fourth year, God has been assuredly taking care of him, providing all that is essential for his daily survival, lacking nothing needful. He confessed he had once tried to amass worldly security, as is the custom of men, yet he now holds himself happy and entirely content to rely only upon the Divine Hand for his needs. He then gladly received the Holy Scriptures from our hands, confiding that this was, remarkably, the very first Bible he had ever possessed. Wishing to provide some worldly comfort, we offered him our contact in the event that any further want should arise, yet he graciously refused and instead blessed us for coming here. He spoke again with utter certainty of God’s faithfulness, repeating the conviction that the Divine Hand never permits him to be in a state of true destitution. We introduced him to the comfort of the Word, while marveling at his own unshakeable testimony to the Lord's immediate care.

Whether we open our mouths to speak on behalf of God, or whether we choose to keep silence for fear of discomfort, we speak nonetheless. To proclaim the Gospel is to render a declaration of our faith. But to refuse to speak is to confess that it is not true to us. The Kingdom of Heaven does not advance through silence. It consumes the world through the faithful witness of the conquering Spirit.

King Solomon’s dominion was vast, spanning north and south, yet his kingdom cannot extend beyond its definitive borders. But Jesus is King of all the earth, making every inch of existing soil ours to claim for His purpose. We have been given the authority to take the good news of salvation to the ends of the earth. We have been given no such right to keep it silently amongst ourselves.

The whole earth is presently hurtling toward final judgment, and yet God, in His profound mercy, has extended a reconciliatory hand to all mankind. Our solemn task, as His appointed ambassadors, is to bear the news of this amnesty to the population, to open the door for souls to settle their peace with the Savior before they stand in the high court of God, where the sentence is irreversible and final. It will prove to be the eternal death of all who despise this call of peaceful reconciliation, for they must stand under the unbearable weight of their own crimes. And it will likewise prove to be our own undoing if we, as disobedient and unfaithful servants, choose to neglect this sacred commission.

It is with considerable gratitude that I observe the sheep have now moved past a simple feeding on milk, and have attained unto strong meat. They are now engaging with those they meet, actively opening conversations about the Gospel. Though some advance with greater boldness than others, their effort is sufficient warrant for me to press them toward a deeper knowledge of what the Lord truly requires of us, by virtue of the talents we have each received. They have now tasted and seen, with their own eyes, the clear reality of how the Gospel interacts with the souls of men, both when met with divine favor and even when received unfavorably. I therefore lift my supplication to God, that it may please Him to grant this sheep-fold a much clearer vision of His majesty, a greater, unquenchable thirst for lost souls, and a yearning to be carried forth into deeper waters. May this desire be rooted in a total dependence on the Lord for that sufficient grace needed in the faithful fulfillment of His work.

A further blessing was manifested in the person of this lady, who joined our small assembly but a few minutes after the message began. She remained attentively throughout the entire discourse and, at its conclusion, offered us home-made sweetmeats as a token of her gratitude, which we were only too happy to receive. Yet, the greater joy was her request for a Bible, which we most gladly presented unto her. May it please the Lord now to use that Holy Word in her life, to bring her from darkness into light and to grant her the saving faith that we pray for all lost souls.

This dear lady on the left professes a dangerous belief (as do all who live and breath separate from the grace of God), claiming she deserves the blessedness of Heaven merely because she deems herself a "good person." But let us understand clearly: the unapproachable Holiness of God doth utterly disavow this claim (Psalm 14:2-3, 53:1-3). These, and all like assertions of self-righteousness, place the soul in a position of grave and eternal peril. 

It is to this solemn end that the Church must faithfully execute its function: to turn the common people toward a true, correct knowledge of God's perfect, unapproachable Holiness, of His uncompromising Law, and of our own wretched disposition—our bent toward evil, our frantic self-vindication, and our rooted hostility against anything that challenges our autonomy. We must, with all urgency, strip away these vain coverings and point them to Christ (John 14:6, Titus 3:5). In the plain words of the Lord, you must be born again (John 3:7).

A scant few minutes after we had departed from the kiosk, the heavens again opened, and the rain finally fell. The day, therefore, concluded as it had progressed: with a perfect demonstration of the Lord's purposeful timing. And so, once again, the evening found us full of joy and rendered to praise God for granting us the immense privilege of serving Him in His divine work.