Pastors John Sherwood and Peter Simpson were preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified in the centre of Uxbridge on August 16th. A number of passing Christians were encouraged by the preachers’ presence.
As happens now on almost a regular basis, a young man felt the need to to cycle up in front of the preacher and start playing loud music by means of an amplifier in his rucksack as a deliberate public expression of contempt for the preaching and to make the hearing of the preaching more difficult. On this latter point, the opponent was hardly successful, as Pastor Sherwood just carried on preaching regardless, having, by God’s grace, such a loud voice as to be able without amplification to speak above this childish attempt to drown him out.
As on previous occasions Pastor Simpson told the offending young man that his actions were in fact a statement of helplessness in that he was incapable in his atheism of issuing any kind of coherent challenge to the Christian message, and so had to resort to such cruder methods. Indeed, his actions were somewhat counter-productive from his perspective in that they appeared to encourage more people to stop and listen to the preaching. A passing Christian in particular was deeply moved and encouraged by Pastor Sherwood’s refusal to be intimidated and his willingness to just carry on preaching and ignore the interruption.
Pastor Simpson preached at one point on 1 Corinthians 6:9 : “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?” Who are the unrighteous? Every single person living, unless he or she flee to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and faith. No one is good by nature. All need to come to Jesus Christ for a new nature, that their existing corrupted and polluted hearts are removed. This is why the Lord Jesus declared, “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7).
Pastor Simpson also emphasised in his preaching, because of the many passing Muslims, that the Lord Jesus is far more than just a prophet; He is the eternal Son of God, the Creator of the universe, and the only Saviour of sinners. No other prophet of any other religion can save men from their sins.
Two of the helpers from the church at Penn, Mr Pablo Sharma and Mrs Helen Jackman, spoke to a man that said he would take a gospel leaflet, if they would take one of his leaflets supporting a pro-life, anti-abortion position. More unusually for one holding to such views, the man said that he was an atheist and also that he believed in reincarnation. Mrs Jackman responded by asserting that because life, even in the womb, is so precious, on which they both agreed, it surely follows that every person’s soul, or spirit, which is also an intrinsic aspect of having life, must also be very precious. The witnessing sister encouraged the atheist to read the Bible and to consider the reality of each human being possessing an immortal spirit, which lives on after death.
Mr Sharma spoke to a lady from Morocco who had become a Christian, and who was now living in the UK. She told him how difficult it was for Christians in Morocco, with the risk even of being imprisoned because of one’s faith. The Open Doors website says of Christians there, “Converts must meet secretly in house churches because they cannot get permission to gather publicly” .
A lady on her bicycle was listening to the preaching, and told Mrs Jackman that she was seeking the Lord. They chatted briefly about the importance of prayer, and she then went on her way., but then 10 minutes later she came back and asked Mrs Jackman if she could pray for a relative of hers who has also been seeking God, but who struggles with addiction. The two prayed there and then, and the woman on the bicycle was very grateful for this and even somewhat tearful.
One of the posters which is regularly used, as it challenges and provokes conversations, was on display and stating the following reads,
‘WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A NATION ABANDONS THE BIBLE? : Drug-taking, knife crime, no respect for the Lord’s Day, abortion, the LGBT agenda in schools, needless anxiety over climate change’.
A young man approached Mrs Jackman and asked somewhat angrily, What is wrong with pro-LGBT issues being taught in schools? The sister explained that the Bible is always our starting point. It teaches that God made Adam and Eve at the beginning. He created man to be with a woman. This is how the human race procreates and sustains life in the world. God’s plan has always been for a man to marry a wife who would love and cherish him. God’s purposes, if we choose to follow them, are beautiful. Thankfully the man was now talking calmly, having abandoned his anger.
He asked if Christians hated those who ignored God’s moral law, and so Mrs Jackman responded that Christians are commanded to love all their neighbours, and even to love their enemies. The young man seemed surprised by this, and was now listening intently. He was told about the reality of sin in all people’s lives, and how destructive sin is. No one can stand before God on the grounds that they are good people, because sin creates a barrier between men and God. This barrier can only be removed through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The young man was encouraged to read the Bible for himself, and the conversation ended amicably. May the Lord speak powerfully to his heart.
Indeed, may the Lord speak powerfully to all who heard the preaching and who took gospel literature upon this very hot day in Uxbridge.