Are you a troublemaker?

I met a new friend the other day.  He is a street preacher who has located himself at what us Torontonians have dubbed, Dundas Square, our replica of Times Square.

The reason we met is that he and I share a mutual friend.  We connected on Facebook, I watched a few of his video clips as they shared some of his experiences on the street, sharing the gospel.

He is a true peacemaker, trying to bring the Word of God out on the street with a voice that is battling the other voices that exist in order to point in the direction of Jesus.  He is, by the very nature of being on the street, an apologetic and able with some persuasive speech, win a few engagements as they come along.  By and large, there are always a few people who stay and listen to what he has to say.

When I say peacemaker, I mean that in its truest form.  He loves as he preaches.  He is not crazy, does not yell and shout, does not damn anyone, sticks to only one message – Christ came for only one reason – to save us.

Well, this past weekend was our Pride parade and he thought he should be there, at his corner, with another voice, proclaiming the Word of God.  Can’t say it was pretty, and I am sure he was all alone because most Christians made a point of not being anywhere near the parade.

Police came, asked him to leave.  There were arguments about tolerance for one but not for the other; freedom of speech for one and not for the other etc.

What would be the charges on Christians who were brave enough to stand and proclaim the Gospel in our cities today?

I think they would reference us to something like a plague, someone who corrupts the morals of others.  Maybe turbulent, or an encourager of tumult and disorder – our message does not fit in.   Not just a person who acts like a  pestilent, but that we were the very pestilence itself.

There is not doubt that they would be seen as a ringleader – speaking on behalf of all Christians -  so active, and so prominent in preaching the gospel.

Many of us Christians would try to distant ourselves from them and call them a sect, even heretical.

If they didn’t already belong to a denomination, we would make up one for them and I am sure it would be given by way of contempt.

Sometimes I think that when we are only about peacekeeping, we must be pretty soft in our message.  The gospel message is a tough message and one does not win friends and influence people when one speaks into the  lives of people the truth of this message.  I work with SAT-7 who broadcasts into the Middle East and North Africa, and we are always afraid of those who will take offense of the message because there is history in this region of such action.  In Toronto, the worse thing so far is an escort off your street corner at a time when it probably would have saved your life.

Somehow I am coming to a place where I need to participate in making some noise, disturb a little bit with the truth of the Gospel, make some waves in the traditional walk of life, calling people to a place where their lives will be radically changed with an encounter with Jesus’ love.  I can only pray that my Church and those that I meet would not see me as a troublemaker – but who am I kidding.

Related articles

• SAT-7 bringing the message of Jesus (godslovevisible.com)
• Preach the Gospel, and Since It’s Necessary, Use Words (sethsoasis.wordpress.com)

Instructions

I saw it happening again the other day – someone declaring on Facebook that the Bible is a Book about law and order and if we do not follow, if you do not obey…you can fill in the blanks.

Yes, I did reply and I did change the wording on their statement and they “like” it.

It is important to observe that our instructions, that we receive from God, are addressed expressly to those of us who feel the need and made the decision to follow God on our own account.

We can not come to this place of worship because our parents were Christians or because we always attended church.  It’s not like in Egypt where your birth certificate indicates whether you are “C” for Christian – because you cannot be a Christian until you make the decision to follow Christ yourself.  It is not something that you are born into.  As a side note, the Muslim world doesn’t get this because Islam is so tied into their politics.  When you are sharing your faith with someone who has an Islamic faith, share this point with them – its worth the clarification.

Back to my point, the act of following Christ or the decision of following Christ is a voluntary act of us, the worshipper.  This is where the how, why, when, where, what part of the method of doing it was in every point defined by the law and grace – the instructions.

So the presenting of ourselves is in fact a symbol of the free will submitting ourself to obtaining instruction from the law and grace of the Lord.  Instructions are extremely necessary, practical and valuable for Christian life and worship.

May I go so far to say that the idea of instructions, is to follow them, and that the voluntary decision to follow them is a “covering” for us, a protection over us.  Similar to the ark of Noah “covered” with a “covering” (pitch). The slab of gold on the Ark of the Covenant is not a “mercy seat” but a cover, a symbol of the firmament over the earth. The Day of Atonement is the Day of Covering, when the Ark-cover is covered with blood and the High Priest receives his clothing back again. “Make atonement” means “cover.” All of these covers relate to the firmament-cover over the world, the clothing put on Adam and Eve after they sinned, and the clothing of the High Priest, to mention but a few. Such coverings before God obviously relate to propitiation, cleansing, atonement, and the like, but the fundamental idea is that of covering, of being rightly clothed before God. The Christian, understanding that we must be hidden in Christ, clothed by Him, before we dare to approach God, will have no trouble grasping the deep significance of such coverings that come about through instructions.

On a lighter note, and to show you what following instructions can look like – check this out – http://youtu.be/Dq-BLpKwL0c

 

 

 

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• Are You Hoping To Become A Leader? (pastorpaulvbsblog.blogspot.com)