...and then I preached.
Just kidding, I'll post the remainder of it tomorrow.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Open Air Preaching Part 3
...the time got closer and closer and I had no sign of my friend and I was getting worried and starting to question the whole situation again. But there was just this reassurance of God speaking to me that if He says He will do something then He goes through with it. It was a calming feeling knowing that it was going to be Him speaking and not me although I was going to be the vessel His voice would be heard. As the clock struck 1 I looked up and there was my friend who had come down, I thought there would be others there by now that said they would come. However there was nobody besides him. As he approached me with his lunch box in hand and grin on his face I felt encouraged! The verse "Where there are two or more gathered in my name there will I be also." If nobody else was going come, we were going to have church!! We both went over to grab the pulpit and bring it over.
As I grabbed my Bible and watch I set it down on the pulpit and stood behind it and knew there was no turning back now! I was praying the entire time as my heart was about to beat out of my chest. I flipped open the Bible and as the pages made the noise that only Bible pages make when turned I knew I was in the absolute will of Christ. I read the verses and prayed for His Word to be anointed. I started in and had this hint of nervousness in my voice as I was just looking at my friend and basically talking to him and trying to be louder but the frog in my throat would not allow me to do it. I know I missed certain points that I normally would say, but they were more for the "enjoyment" of the congregation than the actual "meat" of the sermon. As time went along people started to come and gather around. I got a few Amens and the people who were there just tried to ignore it. However you could tell they were wondering what is this loud guy up here talking about.
I didn't want to come across as condemning, but at the same time I wanted to have the fire and unction of God's word on my tongue. As I continued on in my sermon I began to have the frog in my throat go away and spoke with authority and boldness, not of myself but of God. I noticed that the crowd began to grow and the quote that I heard over and over in my head was "You never have to advertise a fire." from Leonard Ravenhill. I didn't notice the exact number of people that were there but if I were to guesstimate it I would say around 30-35 people were there. As I was preaching the feeling of nervousness left and as I entered into the closing prayer I knew that God had been there and spoke because I was moved inside as well.
After I finished up saying the prayer the people who were there clapped and seemed as though they were saying "it's about time." I walked over to my buddy who was there and we both smiled. I gathered my things that I had brought down and a couple of people came over and shook my hand and told me "Thank You." Then the security guard came over to me and in a very stern tone said, "As much as I enjoyed that, you can never preach here again." To which I replied, "Well you don't have to worry about that because I'm outta here in 2 days." I kinda felt like Wesley for a brief moment. Although nobody threw rocks or a brick at me lol. I went up to my cube and put my things away and just relaxed as I was exhausted.
I was talking with a guy that was there and a friend of my buddy and he was telling me that he was talking with the security guard and she was there about half way through the sermon and could have gone up at any moment and tried to stop me. She had started up there to say something and froze when he said that I had freedom of speech. She had mentioned something at the end of the sermon about letting me finish but I was not sure what she was talking about. I am sure that she was supposed to come in and stop me right away but the power of God so descended upon that place that she was paralyzed and speechless. So God had allowed me to finish and declare His word. What a Jesus!
As I look back on this experience I realize that if God calls and we answer that no matter how uncomfortable it makes us feel that He will take care of the details. I am not sure if anybody received Christ that day but I do know that seeds were planted. My friend went to get some veggies after it was all over and people were talking how some guy was in there preaching the gospel. My friend piped in and said yes he did and you should have been there. I hope and pray that this starts something at Chase whether it be a movement or just thoughts just as long as it drew some closer to Christ. May Jesus be glorified in all we do!!! I never thought I would see the day where I would open air preach at Chase, but again I'll say it, Christ called and I answered. I pray you answer any call in your life that He is putting upon you!
As I grabbed my Bible and watch I set it down on the pulpit and stood behind it and knew there was no turning back now! I was praying the entire time as my heart was about to beat out of my chest. I flipped open the Bible and as the pages made the noise that only Bible pages make when turned I knew I was in the absolute will of Christ. I read the verses and prayed for His Word to be anointed. I started in and had this hint of nervousness in my voice as I was just looking at my friend and basically talking to him and trying to be louder but the frog in my throat would not allow me to do it. I know I missed certain points that I normally would say, but they were more for the "enjoyment" of the congregation than the actual "meat" of the sermon. As time went along people started to come and gather around. I got a few Amens and the people who were there just tried to ignore it. However you could tell they were wondering what is this loud guy up here talking about.
I didn't want to come across as condemning, but at the same time I wanted to have the fire and unction of God's word on my tongue. As I continued on in my sermon I began to have the frog in my throat go away and spoke with authority and boldness, not of myself but of God. I noticed that the crowd began to grow and the quote that I heard over and over in my head was "You never have to advertise a fire." from Leonard Ravenhill. I didn't notice the exact number of people that were there but if I were to guesstimate it I would say around 30-35 people were there. As I was preaching the feeling of nervousness left and as I entered into the closing prayer I knew that God had been there and spoke because I was moved inside as well.
After I finished up saying the prayer the people who were there clapped and seemed as though they were saying "it's about time." I walked over to my buddy who was there and we both smiled. I gathered my things that I had brought down and a couple of people came over and shook my hand and told me "Thank You." Then the security guard came over to me and in a very stern tone said, "As much as I enjoyed that, you can never preach here again." To which I replied, "Well you don't have to worry about that because I'm outta here in 2 days." I kinda felt like Wesley for a brief moment. Although nobody threw rocks or a brick at me lol. I went up to my cube and put my things away and just relaxed as I was exhausted.
I was talking with a guy that was there and a friend of my buddy and he was telling me that he was talking with the security guard and she was there about half way through the sermon and could have gone up at any moment and tried to stop me. She had started up there to say something and froze when he said that I had freedom of speech. She had mentioned something at the end of the sermon about letting me finish but I was not sure what she was talking about. I am sure that she was supposed to come in and stop me right away but the power of God so descended upon that place that she was paralyzed and speechless. So God had allowed me to finish and declare His word. What a Jesus!
As I look back on this experience I realize that if God calls and we answer that no matter how uncomfortable it makes us feel that He will take care of the details. I am not sure if anybody received Christ that day but I do know that seeds were planted. My friend went to get some veggies after it was all over and people were talking how some guy was in there preaching the gospel. My friend piped in and said yes he did and you should have been there. I hope and pray that this starts something at Chase whether it be a movement or just thoughts just as long as it drew some closer to Christ. May Jesus be glorified in all we do!!! I never thought I would see the day where I would open air preach at Chase, but again I'll say it, Christ called and I answered. I pray you answer any call in your life that He is putting upon you!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Open Air Preaching Part 1
Well at Chase today at 1 o'clock something out of the ordinary happened. There was a sermon preached in the back of the cafeteria by the big screen TVs. That somebody was me. I had wanted to preach in the "open air" for quite some time, but didn't know when and where to do it. Well since my last day at Chase is on August 1st (in two days) I figured why not? What is the worst they could do to me, ask me not to do it, or tell me to leave? I'm already leaving so I wasn't too worried. This is a rare thing that anybody preaches, in fact I've never seen anybody do it in my five years of working here. I've never seen so much as a Bible Study at Chase. So needless to say it was something that was WAY outside my comfort box, but if God calls you have to answer.
So I had planned on doing it today at 1 p.m. and had told some people but not advertised a lot since I knew they would have security or something there to try and stop me. I had a good friend of mine try and tell as many people as he knew that were Christians to come down. So he let them know the time and place and I let a few people know. We had been planning this for over a month and were very excited about it. I know several people were kind of questioning whether or not I would actually do it and one of the biggest doubters was myself. It was a bold move and you just don't see "open air preachers" anymore. I was not sure how the message would be received but I knew I had to do it. Besides, it's not job to convict, or make you receive the message, but rather to present it.
So as I woke up this morning I knew that it was the day and had been praying the night before for a divine movement of God. I wanted more than anything for Jesus to be seen and heard. While I was at work and watching the minutes turn to hours and the hours roll away I began to question whether or not I was really supposed to do this. I prayed, "God are you sure about this? I mean it is a really bold move, maybe we could do something more subtle but still get the message across. I mean some people are questioning whether or not it is the right thing to do..." I just kept getting the same feeling and response from Him, that I was not to concern myself with what men think or want, but rather to concern myself with what He wants.
My good friend and I went down in the morning and had scoped out what would be the best place to preach. We had said that the sides would more than likely be the best. I was going to get the pulpit that was there and pull it over to the side and start preaching. So the plan was set and I was ready to go. I went back upstairs and worked while watching the clock and it reached 12:30 p.m. and I headed down to sit and pray over the area I was going to preach at and make sure we got seats close to where the pulpit was going to be. As I went down there the cafeteria was packed and the TVs were turned up loud with the news. I sat there and opened my Bible to the text I was going to preach from and took out my sermon notes and looked over them one more time and prayed. I prayed for the Holy Spirit to prepare the hearts of those who were going to be there, my heart and for His word to be heard...
So I had planned on doing it today at 1 p.m. and had told some people but not advertised a lot since I knew they would have security or something there to try and stop me. I had a good friend of mine try and tell as many people as he knew that were Christians to come down. So he let them know the time and place and I let a few people know. We had been planning this for over a month and were very excited about it. I know several people were kind of questioning whether or not I would actually do it and one of the biggest doubters was myself. It was a bold move and you just don't see "open air preachers" anymore. I was not sure how the message would be received but I knew I had to do it. Besides, it's not job to convict, or make you receive the message, but rather to present it.
So as I woke up this morning I knew that it was the day and had been praying the night before for a divine movement of God. I wanted more than anything for Jesus to be seen and heard. While I was at work and watching the minutes turn to hours and the hours roll away I began to question whether or not I was really supposed to do this. I prayed, "God are you sure about this? I mean it is a really bold move, maybe we could do something more subtle but still get the message across. I mean some people are questioning whether or not it is the right thing to do..." I just kept getting the same feeling and response from Him, that I was not to concern myself with what men think or want, but rather to concern myself with what He wants.
My good friend and I went down in the morning and had scoped out what would be the best place to preach. We had said that the sides would more than likely be the best. I was going to get the pulpit that was there and pull it over to the side and start preaching. So the plan was set and I was ready to go. I went back upstairs and worked while watching the clock and it reached 12:30 p.m. and I headed down to sit and pray over the area I was going to preach at and make sure we got seats close to where the pulpit was going to be. As I went down there the cafeteria was packed and the TVs were turned up loud with the news. I sat there and opened my Bible to the text I was going to preach from and took out my sermon notes and looked over them one more time and prayed. I prayed for the Holy Spirit to prepare the hearts of those who were going to be there, my heart and for His word to be heard...
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Chase Is Getting Jesus!
So this coming Thursday I'm going to be preaching in the cafeteria of Chase Bank. This is where about 3,000 people generally eat. Not all at once but it is the cafeteria where they can go. I'm excited and anxious to see what happens. I do not plan on holding anything back when I preach just because of my surroundings. I'm praying for clarity on what sermon to preach. I don't care which it is, I just want people to hear Jesus. I'm going to be doing this at 1 EST on 7/30/09 so if you think of it pray for Jesus to bring His consuming fire! I have been praying for quite some time about this and feel that this is the perfect opportunity. I just hope that Christ will be revealed in and through this. I have some Christian friends here at work and they're excited and hoping that something will spark and start something. So I ask that you pray and pray without ceasing!! We are asking Holy Spirit Fire to come down upon us and consume anything that is not of Jesus. I will write something afterwards to let you know how things went. May you be heard, seen, felt, and known Jesus!!
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