Are demons real? :: Gospel Outreach Report: PORTSMOUTH

Some people ask "Are demons real?" I wonder what you think the answer might be, when you finish reading this article?

Today (Tuesday) a team of us (two to begin with, joined by three more as time went on) once again, ventured to do Gospel outreach in Portsmouth. Note: this is an Open Air Mission outreach, headed up by Josh Williamson.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:12

It was another beautiful day in Portsmouth, but it looked like there were fewer people around than usual, so my expectation for the day was quite low. Not that we should be discouraged in small things - it is quality, not quantity!

I was quite wrong. The outreach ended up being hectic and full of a great many encounters!

As we set up, a man came to us, speaking as if we knew him. It is of course likely we have spoken with him before in the same area. But neither of us remembered him. He said he had a question, but he could not remember what it was! I said to him that a good question to ask is "Am I saved / in a right relationship with God?" to which he responded that he was already trying to work out how to get saved. We both spoke with him a little while and Josh gave him some relevant literature.

There was a theme beginning to emerge today - the importance of continuity in outreaches. Many people who spoke with us today, had already spoken with us in the past. Giving us a chance to develop conversation and relationships. This is something I mentioned in my outreach report last week.

How encouraging that people go away and do actually think about the eternal things we put to them!

We were just about to bring the outreach to the Lord in prayer, when a couple of visiting ladies from Wales approached the table. Josh was able to have a good conversation with them.

Man gets saved since hearing the preaching last year

In one early conversation, a man came up to Josh and told him that since hearing our outreach preaching last year, he got saved. He now understands the Bible!

Recently he got into some trouble and was greatly troubled - not that he got found out or had perhaps broken the law, but rather, that he had sinned against God! Wonderful to hear of God convicting him of his sin.

"I just bought a Bible to read!"

A lady walked up to the table. I asked her if she had ever read the Bible. She said she had just purchased a Bible to read. I then handed her a Gospel tract saying "Here is a summary of the message of the Bible" - She did not hang around, but I got the feeling from her that this was the Lord working in her life to bring her to Himself.

I always find it very interesting when the Lord is doing something in someone's life and we end up being the next piece of the "jigsaw puzzle". I saw this reality a few times today.

Collecting seeds to scatter

It was wonderful to hear that a lady we have seen a few times (who has cancer) appeared again. Speaking to Josh. She takes some of our tracts from the board and then distributes them to the elderly in a local nursing home! It's great to hear that we can be a part of supplying literature for someone else to go witnessing! Apparently she has been coming regularly to grab some tracts for this purpose.

A Roman Catholic - pursuaded to walk away from Catholicism?

A lady stopped at the table who is a Roman Catholic. I had a fairly long conversation with her. She was particularly interested in a booklet we had about suffering. I then started to speak with her about the Biblical reality of suffering. The Lord brought many scriptures to my mind. I especially spoke about Job. I spoke about how we need to put our full confidence in only Jesus for salvation and not our good works. That Jesus said on the cross that it was finished. I believe this lady was hopefully realising all of this sort of thing is probably not taught to her where she attends.

By the end of the conversation she was asking for details of another church.

At some point I said how important it was that we should be in a church that has the Bible at the centre. This is because it is more important than our necessary food (see Job 23:12) and that man can not live by bread alone ("Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4). I would love to think that this lady would completely forsake the RC church she attended, to now go somewhere to hear the Word of life faithfully preached!

Another lady from another church

While I was looking to get a leaflet to point the lady to the church I was familiar with, another lady I had spoken with just before was now trying to pursuade the roman catholic to attend her church. I am not at the outreaches to try and compete with people for church attendance. So I used the opportunity to encourage the lady to carry around flyers for her own church. I also said how this flyer for Grace Baptist Church Portsmouth was a great flyer, because, not only was it an invite, but it also contained the Gospel message. Did you know we can design and print church invite flyers and Gospel tracts according to your specific needs? Click here to contact us about this.

Are demons real? Man seeks to attack the preaching

What happened next was both shocking and yet fascinating.

Josh started preaching. This was the first and only preach of the outreach. It was all from one verse - John 3:16.

As the preaching got going, a group of teenagers gathered.....

The boy on the right kept asking questions to try and trap Josh. Hoping that Josh did not know the Bible, or that God in some way is unjust in His dealings with men and women.

Dialogue continued for a little while and then suddenly a drunken man interrupted.

He came straight into Josh's face and tried to distract him (and the young man) from the preaching. He went back and forth to the boy, then to Josh. Getting very physical. At one point slapping the boy on the neck. Josh pleaded with him to stop interrupting the conversation. But he continued for some time.

I tried to pursuade him to come away and speak with me about some of what he was saying. He would not do this. There was also another well meaning Christian distracting the preaching.

Shouting and distracting, in peoples faces - this drunken man wanted the proclamation of the Gospel finished. But he was not going to succeed!

Eventually I pursuaded him to come and talk with me 1:1. This enabled Josh to continue witnessing to the young man and his friends.

My conversation with the heckler was going nowhere. He stunk of beer and kept grabbing me and slapping my back. I tried to pursuade him to get right with God and to forsake the alcohol. But he was convinced he was already trusting in God.

Was this man demon possessed? What do you think? Comment below!

A shocking contrast

The man walked away. He never returned to plague us again. Trying to work out what just happened, I began to feel a great sorrow for the state of this man. But then I noticed someone at the table who was clearly interested in what we had there.

I began to speak with him and he said he had just started to take an interest in spiritual things - reading some parts of the Bible. He took a full Bible and I was able to explain to him the Gospel and overarching theme of the Bible. He seemed very greatful for this and shook my hand as he left. I have to say that the conversation was difficult - going from one extreme to another. But the Lord helped me. Praise the Lord that this man now knows the Gospel!

Please take a moment to give thanks to the Lord for these encounters and pray He might extend His mercy to the salvation of souls we encountered this day. 15 Bibles, 3 New Testaments and 6 Gospels of John were taken - along with a great many Gospel tracts!

What else happened? You can read another report about today from Josh Williamson by clicking here.

-Nigel, Printing Evangelism