Street Meeting, Sixth

The word having been faithfully sown at San Jose del Monte thus, I made my swift journey back to the hallowed ground of our fellowship, desiring nothing so much as to humble myself among those of like precious faith, and enjoy the true, deep solace found only in the gathering of the Lord's redeemed flock. The Lord did grant a blessed sight to welcome me, as I beheld my beloved brethren seated upon the grass communing with each other in fellowship, a scene of humble, blessed repose. My gaze was drawn instantly to the small, precious child, a mere babe, contentedly taking sustenance among the saints. Seeing this little one, so near to the heart of Christian fellowship like that child who was called by the Lord before His disciples, was a clear token of God’s abiding grace. Though I had been detained by my duty in my previous location, I felt no weariness, for my sole, continuous prayer had been this: that the LORD would prepare the hearts of those He had summoned before Him today—that they might be ready to receive the life-giving message intended for this very day. In the midst of this sweet communion, my hope for His work was renewed.

Seeing that the precious season of brotherly communion was now concluded, and having briefly cast our concerns before the Throne—especially regarding the spiritual advancement of our dear little ones in the work with the children next month (which we commend wholly to the LORD’s own wisdom and timing)—we determined to commence without delay. I stepped forward to take my appointed station before the congregation. A considerable handful of souls they were, yet each one a sacred opportunity, gathered in the gentle warmth of the afternoon light, seemingly unaware that they were there, awaiting a word from on high, divinely prepared for them. And behold! Among them, I espied again the watching countenance of that solitary man who had graced our former assembly. We deemed it a truly profound grace and acknowledged the honor of his presence, praying earnestly that this time, the seed of the Gospel, which he seemed so patiently to anticipate, would finally take deep root in his proud and self-righteous heart.

The sacred text appointed for this very hour—and one so needful for the souls before us—was drawn from the Lord’s own warning in Luke, chapter thirteen, verses one through five. How fittingly, how tragically, this portion of Holy Writ holds a mirror to the very spirit of this age! For alas, men are ever quick to chase after the newest tidings, their minds distracted by the fleeting clamor of the day. Their tongues are far too inclined to gossip and dwell upon the sudden mishap or lamentable death of some person, known and unknown, whilst they remain utterly, and dangerously, oblivious. They forget, in their haste and vain curiosity, that an appointment with death awaits them all as well. They neglect the one great, necessary contemplation: their own impending summons to eternity, which shall, with absolute certainty, overtake them in the blink of an eye, sooner or later. The LORD owes no man a week's notice to prepare. 

And here is the piercing, inescapable truth delivered by the lips of the Redeemer Himself! The Lord does not trifle with human distinctions. He sweeps away all our vain notions regarding the levity or the grievousness of our trespasses. Before the Eternal Judge, the whisper of a trivial fault and the thunder of a heinous transgression are met with one and the same, awful declaration. He lays down a universal sentence upon every living soul, without respect to person or degree of sin: If there be no genuine turning, no humble repentance—the soul that sins shall assuredly perish.

This is the divine necessity! It is not a matter of degree, but of nature. Oh, may this solemn, irrevocable truth pierce through the slumber of our hearts and drive us, in desperate haste, to the foot of the Cross!

And yet, oh, the marvelous condescension of the Almighty! What a sight of wonder and power it was to behold every single soul arrested—held captive by the realizations both of everyday reality, and that of eternal truths—from the very opening to the close! A trembling fear had assailed my own heart, I confess, that my poor, feeble vessel of an appeal—four pages shorter than my accustomed measure—would prove utterly insufficient for the awesome work at hand. Yet, praise be to God! The Holy Spirit Himself did graciously extend the plea, breathing life into the words far beyond my small efforts.

Those who, in their initial hardness, had scoffed or refused the gift of the Holy Bible were met with a stern and firm admonition: that the Word of the Living God is not some trifling option, but is as vitally necessary to the soul as the very air that sustains the body! Thus was human pride openly confronted. Those gathered, who in their misery had harbored grievances against either man or their Maker, were powerfully humbled, made to see their own absolute powerlessness to command one extra hour of life. Then, and only then, were they tenderly invited into the loving, outstretched arms of the blessed Savior, who, even in that sacred moment, extended His eternal hand of salvation and reconciliation. What a Day of Grace!

We must never forget the solemn truth concerning these precious, wayward souls: they are such as would never, of their own accord, willingly set foot within the sanctuary of a Christian gathering. 

Yet, though the eternal, unchanging Message remains precisely the same—the fearless proclamation of Scriptural Truth—the location of its delivery must needs be altered. 

Truly, we are called to be fishers of men, and the faithful servant cannot, in good conscience, abide in passive comfort! He dare not wait in the stillness of his own abode, hoping that the unmindful catch will somehow leap from the deep waters and onto his waiting plate. Nay! The very nature of our holy commission demands a fervent action: The workman must go to the place where the lost are found, casting the net where the fish in troubled waters are.

Though this poor, clay vessel had set his heart upon thrice delivering the Word this day, the eternal counsels of the Almighty judged it otherwise. The Lord, in His infinite wisdom, did not see fit to allow this unprofitable worm to boast or glory in the mere achieving of mortal goals. No! He granted a sufficiency of grace, not for my ambition, but for His name, and for those elect souls, for whom this day's Divine Appointment was sacredly reserved. The work was accomplished. Those whose ears the Spirit was pleased to unstop—they truly heard the summons of their Maker. As for those whose hearts remained sadly hardened—their feeble excuses were utterly swept away, leaving them without refuge.

Upon our departure from the field, it is not uncommon to find despisers of the Gospel. Today we recovered two discarded tracts cast carelessly upon the refuse by some poor, unmindful recipient.

I call them, walking dead men.

It were better, indeed, for that soul never to have drawn a single breath—better for them never to have been born into this world's tragic stage—than to have been graciously offered the unspeakable pardon of Christ's Salvation, and then, in their own willful pride, to cast that eternal treasure away. The preaching of Christ is not primarily to pursue men, but to glorify God. And He will indeed be glorified both in granting mercy to the unworthy, and passing judgement for those who truly deserve it.

We know that our labor is not in vain, for the great and fearful Day is coming: when the Lord shall be eternally vindicated in His righteous Judgment before the whole creation. On that glorious morn, every single knee shall bow before the Lamb upon His majestic throne, and the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord,  for all eternity.

Thus, through no power or merit of our own, but purely by the enablement of the Lord's unmerited Grace, the sixth street meeting has this day been solemnly brought to its close.

To God Alone Be the Glory.