First Time Open Air???...!!!

Dear brothers and sistersplease pray for me, because;this saturday the 24th (today) there is a phychic/spiritual promotion, over 400 different occult, spiritual and phychic promotions for people who are interested, they can come and see all the different stants in this big hall.And Thursday i heard about this, and something begane to burn in my heart, and mind. I wrote lot's of things down which can be preached, but the thing is, i don't know how the location looks, if there will be a spot to preach. But also i am not fully equiped with tracts, i have a few, i know it isn't necessarily needed, but may come in handy! School was quite busy, just came back from work, need to do some more for school, so preparation time isn't very much...so i only know the place and the street, don't know if it's only indoor or also a part outdoor, if there will many people or not, and what the weather will be like, rain is expected...but one thing i know "there is no spiritual authority outside obediance to Christ"i believe and know that i need to go, and i will go, trusting Him, with no knowledge of the location, people and spots, i only bring a Message, Christ and Him Crucified and Judgement to come and Law and Grace. May He anoint me and the Words!In need of Him, for i can not do this by myself, for i will be there alone, with no open air preaching experience, so i surrender all of me into His Hands and that He may use me for His Glory.so please pray for me.in HimWilliam

"And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."Luke 10:18-20"A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven."John 3:27And this following verse bro, I read just this week...and it's awesome. Take this with you when you're going out there...and if it all seems to have been a total failure...read these verses:"But I said, "I have toiled in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely the justice due to me is with the LORD, and my reward with my God.""Isaiah 49:4The Lord will be with you,Paul

Dear Brother,I respect you for your zeal and obediende. May the Lord be with you in a powerful way.In Him,Gery

Dear brothers and sisters!First, thank you so much for your prayers, Jesse, Gery and Paul! I appreciate it very much! :-)well now the moment of truth, i drove off at 2:30 pm here and got there at 3 pm, i was scared, but i knew this was the day and the place.I found a spot at the gates, where people entered in the building and exited it. Also there was a guy, who gave me a card, he was a christian, and he was giving tracts, so he asked me if i was going to visit it, "no i'm about to preach", later that afternoon i spoke with him some more.But anyway, i was at a corner of the gates with in front of me the busstop where people were waiting. I was standing on a 5 cm high piece of stone, and i didn't have a soapboxI prayed to God, to ask for the moment to start preaching, i was scared, so after a few minutes of prayer i stood up and i began to preach.i don't know how long i preached maybe half an hour, but when i first started there were some moments were i didn't know quite what to say, but the Words came, i was preaching on Joh 14:6, only one way, Jesus, and how are they going to face Him when they die, as Savior or as Judge.People were passing by, the people at the busstop were i believe wondering why i was preaching, one woman was kind of a heckler, they just passed and shouted something to me, some others were listening, in one guy eyes i saw a kind of convivtion, but he thanked me and walked on.I wasn't allowed to give tracts, so i just had to give The Message, and when the bus came the people got in and i quited preaching, my mouth was dry of preaching and loud speaking (because there was a sort of distance between the busstop and the gates)I prayed for those at the busstop, that God will do something with the words they heard, and the others who were just passing by and heard just a few lines.After that i began to speak one to one, i guy i could explain the full Gospel while walking to his car, and i could give him a tract(because it was out of the range of the building), others were not interested and had their own beliefs and didn't care...But now i am exhausted, i feel empty, to be honest i don't know how to feel, don't know if they will respond to The Gospel. Don't know either if my message was clear, or people got the message.It was all new to me, i believe He will teach me and show me, that i may grow in His Grace.So in the end i only know i did what i had to do, but than again to be honest it feels kind of empty because i don't know what people will do with what they heard.i lay it all in His Hands, that He may take care of it!thanks again for your prayers, also those who prayed and made no reply on this post :-)in HimWilliam

but than again to be honest it feels kind of empty because i don't know what people will do with what they heard.I've got to know you a little bit, brother, in the last couple of years. I know you didn't go out there because quite a few that participate on SI do preach open-air. I know you didn't do it because Finney did it, or Wesley or Whitefield. I know you did it because God stirred you up (in a good way). So, take these words with you:"And go...and speak...and tell...‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse."Ezekiel 3:11Finally, give God space to search your heart continually. Give Him the space to change your life more into His image. Let Him search your attitude, your motives...and keep your eyes solely on Jesus. He rewards those who are faithful. In the Unfailing One,Paul

William, Praise God for your courage to bring the gospel to these people. I am encouraged.Is it against the law to pass out tracts in the Netherlands?In Christ,Doug

DezCall wrote:"And go...and speak...and tell...‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse."Ezekiel 3:11Amen! (thanks)[smile]Finally, give God space to search your heart continually.Thank you bro, again also very true, may He search our hearts, and show us and lead us on His Way! Psalm 139:23,24Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.more of Him, less of me/us!in His Grace!William

dougkristen wrote:Is it against the law to pass out tracts in the Netherlands?well no, but in that area of that building it was not allowed, they want it clean in the streets, and the place where i preached was property of that building so they made the rules.so it was permitted out of that range :-) and the tract i gave was out of that range!

Thank you for sharing about the outreach. Praise the Lord that He does have laborers in His harvest field.My brother use to do some open air (street) preaching with some other guys.May the Lord continue to increase your love for Him and reach out to many hearts and lives with His Love through you and through all who are His and obeying Him.The following verses just came to my mind:"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase." (I Cor. 3:6-7)(There's also Isaiah 6 and 55:8-11)May God continue to be your strength!

Hey all4Christ!thanks for your words :-) it's God indeed who gives increase! Great that your brother is doing this, it looks like street preaching is more in America than here in The Netherlands, because i never saw here anyone preach open air.Be blessed all4Christ, and be a blessing!William

First of many i hope ;-)William, it is great to hear about what the Lord is doing in you life, i too am a street preacher in my home town, my brother, my fiance and i go out onto the streets every week, my brother and i preach for around 15 minutes an we also had out tracts and have one to ones with people.I encourage you to go out onto the streets as the Lord leads you William, I firmly believe that God is rasing up street preachers all over the world as 'the church' goes more an more apostate He has His faithful preachiung the true unwatered-down Gospel on the streets whether the people want to hear it or not.I was amazed to read that you have never seen another open air preacher in your country, I pray the Lord blesses you with the words of eternal life to speak to masses that are on their way to Hell.Some things I've learned so far:1: Dont bother condemning other religions this is antagonism that is not needed, preach Christ and Him crucified, dont bother denouncing islam, budhism etc..2: A heckler who walks away does not want a response so dont bother shouting after them.3: Ask every 'christian' who comes up to you if they are saved, as some might just be church goers.4: Old women can be harder to the gospel than big biker looking people.5: Agression is normally a sign of conviction and thus a sign that the Lord is working on that person.6: If a heckler says something that is correct like 'Well i believe in Satan' then agree with them say 'I agree, I believe in Satan and that on the cross Jesus won the victory over him'thats all i can think of at the momentmy last thing that i'd say is be aware open air evangelism can get addictive :-D matt

Hi Mattsaved_matt wrote:First of many i hope ;-)[smile]Thank you brother for your post, i am so thankful for all you guys, for praying encouraging and talking about own experiences!I encourage you to go out onto the streets as the Lord leads youyea, i am still scared, but i want to be sencetive to The Holy Spirit, for me is to spend time with Him, for inner purity results in outer power. If He says go, i should go!my last thing that i'd say is be aware open air evangelism can get addictive:-)[laughs] ow men, great :-), for now i am still scared, still don't know how to cope with all the experiences and feelings. Just giving it back to Him, lay it all in His Hands for He is The Shepherd!i feel such a newbe, i always looked a sort of up at those who did street preaching, that they had the guts to do it, but it's not the guts that drive them, but God called them to do this! And i thank Him for giving Grace to do it and Words to preach! And His Love casts out all fear!And for me it is to be a voice and not an echo!But thanks again Matt for your words and prayer and the things you have learned, i appreciate that very much! :-)Be blessed in your street preaching, that you may speak The Words He is giving you!William

Way to go, brother! Always rely upon the power of the Holy Spirit, and abide in the vine for all your strength, for apart from Him we can do nothing. God bless and may more of us be inspired to do likewise!-Eli

WOO HOO! Man that is exciting! I know the empty feeling when you preach open-air the first time. I know the first time I preached open-air I felt like a complete loser and worth nothing. It is nothing but the flesh revolting and spritual attack. You did the right thing. I am so excited! Makes me want to go preach! The more you do it the more you realize it's all God working through you. Just keep in prayer. He will provide!

Oh man William, this was exciting to read on printed paper Monday, while I rode up to the conference I was attending. I am bummed that I didn't get to read this when you posted it, but it was encouraging to read how God answered prayers. Wow, what an experience! It's inspirational to see you simply obey the voice of the Lord. It's encouraging to see you continually grow. Make sure to share with us if you end up going out and open air preaching again.