Where are the Street-Preachers?

"Last Eve' I perceived as I walked down the street, seven men of as they went out to preach. They went through the highway, the streets of the land, crying, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!" But where are their fellows that stood with them there, proclaiming God's Words to all who would hear? One year there were thirty and ten men of God, who 'stood in the gap' with a Sword and a Rod. Last year there were thirty; this year there is ten. Now there is seven,O, where are the men? Where are the street-preachers God called to this place? Where are the men that did once run the race?Where are the preachers that did cry near and far? "We're too busy", they said.....Miserable liars ye are! Nay, but there was room when it came time for fun! Only no time for this Jesus you serve, save Sunday and Wednesday, for Him ye reserve. Ye call yourselves 'preachers', nay but ye cowards, chickens, women ye are! Stand up for Jesus, ye true men of God, and return to the highways with your Sword and your Rod. For the people do perish, as sin takes its toll! And no man careth at all for their soul!"



I have been raised with a Daddy who has gone street-preaching for as long as my memory will allow me to look back on. Yet, my own opinion on street-preaching is not merely on the fact that I was raised with the like, rather, my opinion comes from more grounded and meaningful reasoning. What reasoning is this? Two things: 1.) The Bible and 2.) Having gone out on the streets myself with my Dad and other brethren and sisters in the Lord.



Let's start by asking what our Bible's say about it.



"Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth.Selah." ~Psalm 60:4



"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." Isaiah 58:1



These two verses from the Old Testament of our Bible are pictures of what you would see if you happened to be passing by while a group of street-preachers were out on your city's corners. Many would be holding signs displaying the Truth of God's Word and the Truth of America's sins. And, you would hear a man's voice from the group 'crying aloud', 'sparing not', and calling out the sins of our world and nation.



Moving on to the New Testament.....



"From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." ~Matthew 4:17



"And saying {Jesus is speaking}, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye and believe the gospel." ~Mark 1:15



"And He said unto them {Jesus again}, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth." ~Mark 1:38



Now, the book if Acts is barreled full of good street-preaching storys...and here's a bit of one:



This story is in Acts chapter 5. It's an amazing story of Peter and the Apostles preaching for their Lord; being put in prison for it and were commanded by the counsel and the high priest NOT to preach in Jesus' name. And then....wait, what do you think happens now? Does God tell Peter to listen to the counsel and 'obey the laws of the land?' I think not.



No siree, God opens the prison doors, sets them free and says, Go git em' boys! Indeed, for the Bible says....



"....the high priest asked them, saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine.....Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men." Acts 5: 27-29



Yeehaw! I'd love to say, "Preach on Brother Peter, preach on!"....*Grinning like wild*:)Listen to this.....



"And they departed from the presence of the counsel, REJOICING that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for HIS name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they CEASED NOT to teach and preach JESUS CHRIST." Acts 5"41-42

Today's churches are filled with pastors and preachers who fill their congregaton's ears with smooth words of man's wisdom. Sin is hardly ever preached on anymore...and to hear a pastor say, "Repent ye!" is almost unheard of! So, we take the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ to the highways and hedges and by God's grace, compel them to come in.

When I was real young, in the winter time, my family used to take hot cornbread, beans, and coffee to the homeless in Atlanta, Georgia. First, Daddy would preach to them, and afterwords everyone would line up for a hot meal. Those were my first experiences of street-preaching (that I can remember:). The next outings I remember was going and standing against abortion in front of the abortion clinic (murder mill:) in Shreveport, Louisiana. I always enjoyed it, but at that point I don't think it was something I believed should be done, just that I thought it was great that we were doing it.

It wasn't until I was 12 years old and my family went on the road street-preaching for 2 years, that I realized that this street-preaching was becoming very much something I believed in and loved to do..knowing that it was Biblical and right.

I learned alot of things in those two years of street-preaching. Of few of them are these: 1.) People are vile and wicked...2.) It caused me to get in my Bible more so that I could have answers..3.) God's word is indeed a two edged sword; I would see it cut people to pieces and, out of their conviction and anger, would thrash out at us with filthy language and nasty tactics.

We often heard these things said to us.."Judge not!"....."God loves everybody!"....and "Get a life!".....Of course, much, much more was said to us, but I wouldn't dare repeat any of their vile conversation for the life of me!

You might too be thinking, "Well, it does say 'Judge not'.." Yes, it does...but let's finish that verse, and look at a few more...

"Judge not...cuz it's a SIN!" ~Matthew 7:1 Wait..let's try that again......"Judge not, that ye be not judged." ~Matthew 7:1 KJV Yes, there we are. If you'll read your Bible, then you'll see that the following verses are telling you to be careful, because, if you DO judge someone, you are going to be judged for the same. But, verse five tells us we can judge, IF we ourselves don't have that 'beam in our own eye.' See, "Thou hypocrite, FIRST cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." Mtt 7:5

I'll leave you to chew on that..but be prepared to be bombarded with several more...

Calling out sin is very important, and Biblical. When we are on the streets and the signs we hold and the men preaching are speaking up against sin, it causes a very negetive effect...and is looked at as 'Judging'.

What DOES our God say about calling out sin? Let us dig through the buried treasure of our perfect Bible and find the Truth!

"Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear." 1st Timothy 5:20

"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." Ephesians 5:11

"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." Romans 16:17-18

"He that saith to the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, and nations shall abhor him: but to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them." Proverbs 24:24-25

So folks, I think you and I can both see that the Bible speaks for itself. What would our Nation be like if we had men of God today who would stand up and.."Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke with all longsuffering and doctrine.."(2nd Timothy 4:2:) ? I'd guess it would be a purty good place, yeah?

I hope these verses and thoughts will enlighten you to the truth of street-preaching, and perhaps even make you too wonder, "Where are the street-preachers?"