Pastor Peter Simpson was declaring Jesus Christ and Him crucified in High Wycombe High Street on April 18th , helped by three faithful ladies from the church at Penn.
A young lady walking past requested a copy of the Scriptures, which those witnessing were thankfully able to give her. May the Lord speak powerfully to her through her reading.
One of the texts upon which the minister preached was “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 14:1). In the same vein Pastor Simpson also quoted from Proverbs 28:26 – “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool”. No one can trust their own fallen and unregenerate heart to make decisions about eternal truth. All rather need new hearts to remove “the madness” which is in the heart of all unbelievers (Ecclesiastes 9:3). Here we are in the 21st century. Have we abolished war, hatred, crime and vandalism and all other kinds of evil? Of course not. Are we not supposed to be evolving, constantly improving and becoming more sophisticated with each new generation? The reality of course is that man’s heart is just as rebellious towards God and as generally corrupted as it ever was many centuries go.
Whilst the minister was preaching, an elderly man came up and said, You are putting people off religion by preaching like that. Pastor Simpson responded by referring to the apostle Paul’s words in Romans 10:14 – “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” This text speaks of the absolutely essential nature of gospel preaching outside of the walls of a church. The minister explained to the man that the message of the gospel is so important and urgent that it has to be publicly and urgently proclaimed. Sadly, however, he was so hardened and dismissive of the witness that he felt it beneath him to engage in any sensible conversation about the points which Pastor Simpson had raised.
It was particularly sad to see such an attitude in someone very senior in years, who must have been exposed to Christian teaching in his earlier life. Such a one will in fact have had nearly a whole lifetime of resisting God’s drawing, and so he will have spent many years hardening himself to Biblical truth, and thereby exposing himself to the possibility of the Lord in response so hardening his heart that it will be an indication of his being utterly given up and given over to the unbelief which he so much craves (Exodus 9:12). The time will be fairly short for this gentleman to make his peace with God. May the gracious and longsuffering God yet be pleased to grant him His mercy (2 Peter 3:9).
Indeed, prayer is being offered up that others also who heard the gospel declared in High Wycombe, whatever age they might be, might likewise realise the utter urgency of fleeing from the wrath to come and of seeking God’s mercy through faith in the only Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.