Pastors Peter Simpson and John Sherwood were preaching the gospel in the centre of Uxbridge on February 17th.
One of the helpers, Mrs Pilkington, spoke to a man who was initially sceptical about his being a sinner, until she asked him if he had ever made any serious mistakes or done anything wrong. After some time he had to admit that he had. The witnessing sister went on to elaborate upon the sinners need to turn to the Lord Jesus for mercy. Whilst he had begun the conversation in a very joking manner, he gradually became more serious. He said that he did sometimes ask God for forgiveness. Mrs Pilkington responded by stating that forgiveness is the key to eternal life. He then thankfully took several gospel leaflets away with him. May the Lord speak powerfully to his heart.
Mrs Pilkington also had a long conversation with a Muslim mother and her four daughters who were listening intently. The mother insisted that Christians and Muslims honour the same Jesus. Our sister then proceeded to show her certain Scripture text clearly referring to Jesus as fully divine, and as the Son of God. She replied that our Bible has had so many versions and so cannot be trusted. She sadly seemed impervious to the arguments put to her, but the Holy Spirit is able to soften hardened hearts.
Another man was very grateful when Mrs Pilkington prayed with him about his need to find work. He was a Christian, but he felt somewhat frustrated at the lack of discernment in churches over some of the key issues of our time, such as vaccines, Ukraine, and the gradual shift towards one world government. At the end of the conversation, he felt encouraged, for which, of course, we are most thankful.
Another faithful helper, Mrs Newman, had a good conversation with a Somali Muslim called Adam. He lamented that most people in this country do not know God, and he said that he was in agreement with what Pastor Sherwood was saying. He also said that Islam and Christianity have a lot in common and that he believed that both good Muslims and good Christians will be in heaven.
The witnessing sister responded by saying that the Lord Jesus is the only Saviour of mankind, and she quoted Acts 4:12 concerning our Lord :
“Neither is there salvation in any other : for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”.
Mrs Newman went on to explain that God is perfect in all His ways. He hates sin and must punish it. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, satisfied the justice of God at the Cross. Our sins were laid upon Him and He paid the penalty for them. She then quoted Romans 5:8 –
“God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”.
She then explained to the Muslim that the Lord’s sacrificial death upon the Cross pays the penalty for sin which rests upon all men, and yet at the same time this death is also the means of accomplishing God’s mercy towards sinners. The Cross, therefore, is the only way that the holy God can at the same time be both perfectly just and yet full of mercy.
The Muslim replied that he had not heard anything like that before. He seemed genuinely amazed, but then said that he is Muslim, and so he can never be converted to Christianity.
Mrs Newman responded by quoting 1 John 5:12 –
“He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life”.
The Muslim then said that he believes in Jesus as a prophet of God, and so our sister explained that Jesus was so much more than a prophet, but none other than the eternal Creator “God … manifest in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16).
The conversation was thankfully very cordial throughout. May the Lord God, in His great mercy, open the eyes of this Muslim to the unique truth of Jesus Christ crucified for sinners and the only means of salvation.
A man walked by and raised a finger in a vulgar and dismissive gesture as Pastor Simpson was preaching. The minister told him that what he had just done proved that he, the preacher, had already won the argument, because no valid words could be found to challenge the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ other than his crude personal abuse.
Pastor Sherwood had a good conversation with a homosexual couple who on a previous occasion at the same location had uttered extremely vulgar language towards him. The minister gently reminded them of this and explained that such language can only come from a sinful heart, and he quoted to them the Lord’s words,
“An evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:45). One of the men appeared to take this friendly rebuke seriously, because he apologised for his use of such language.
There was much interest in the poster on display which reads :
“To promote the LGBT agenda in schools is to indoctrinate children into an anti-Christian worldview – what they rather need is the truth of God’s word”.
Some who passed by sadly got angry with the poster, with one young man deliberately overturning it and the stand on which it was resting. This was a crude acct of vandalism and again a poor substitute for sensible discussion. One lady accused the preachers of not showing love and of judging people. Pastor Sherwood replied that all are sinners, and it is the word of God, not he, which clearly condemns the sin in question.
Prayer is now being offered up that among the many who heard in Uxbridge upon this day there might be those who realise the dreadful seriousness of sin and who flee without any delay to the only Saviour of sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ.