Pastor Peter Simpson was proclaiming Jesus Christ crucified and risen again in the centre of Uxbridge, West London, on April 12th, helped by three faithful and more immediately local Christians.
At one point a man walked by and made a disparaging comment about the preaching under his breath, doing so in such a way as to be obvious what he was doing. So Pastor Simpson shouted after him, Pardon, Sir, what exactly is your problem. The man carried on walking but felt it necessary to deliver a vulgar hand gesture towards the minister. At this, Pastor Simpson responded, What you have just done proves I have won the argument, because it shows that you have nothing coherent to say or argue in your rejection of the Christian gospel!
One of Pastor Simpson’s texts was Jeremiah 17:10 : “I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings”. No one can hide from God’s all-seeing eye. He knows what all are thinking. He discerns whether there is true love for Him or not. He knows about secret sins. He tries ‘the reins’, literally the kidneys, meaning that he examines a person’s innermost being, and this is in the context of the coming day “when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ” (Romans 2:16).
One of the posters on display in the town centre carried read as follows :
“UNCLEAN … So is this nation before me, saith the Lord …Righteousness exalteth a nation (Haggai 2:13-14, Proverbs 14:34).
In line with this message, Pastor Simpson declared at one point, “Modern Britain has turned away from God. We reject God’s commandments. We are an unclean nation. We tell schoolchildren that two men or two women can marry, but marriage is only between one man and one woman for life. We tell schoolchildren that they can change their gender, which God has fixed for all time. We are a nation in deep rebellion against the Almighty. We destroy heart beating human life in the womb by means of abortion. And we think we are a progressive and enlightened modern people. We are not. We are involved in pagan child sacrifice. Most politicians just go with the flow, and so abortion is totally legal, but it is an offence in the sight of Almighty God. We are an unclean nation because it is made up of unclean people, and the only way to remove your uncleanness is to come to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith, to humble yourself before the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come to Him seeking mercy because of all your sins.
May many who heard the preaching in Uxbridge come to a realisation, not only of the grave national uncleanness, but also of their personal uncleanness, which only the Lord Jesus Christ can remove.