Open Air: The Future

Towards the end of last week's newsletter, I mentioned foretelling the future - simply by quoting from scripture, on that occasion. I cannot claim to have any exclusive knowledge of coming events, though many of the people I meet seem to have a hotline to heaven giving them inside information. Last Wednesday we had a whiskery old gent who said that it had just been revealed to him that anyone who worshipped the Lord on Sunday instead of the Sabbath would be headed straight to hell on the day of judgement, and he was anxious that I should mend my ways forthwith...

One of the most popular topics with these well-informed folk is revival. Sometimes it's already under way, e.g. the conversion of hundreds of nuns in Rome - which isn't in the papers anywhere, because "The Vatican's keeping it under wraps", or many thousands of Muslims turning to the Lord in nearby northern towns, which "we need to keep quiet about because of the possibility of reprisals - we can't have them coming to our churches where people can see them, can we?" Sometimes it's just about to take place: one lady told me that she'd received a divine vision of a world-wide revival that everyone in every land would witness during Easter of that year. The year in question is long gone, and I haven't seen her or a revival since then, alas.

I'm certainly praying for revival in Great Britain, and the sooner the better. But I won't be holding my breath until I see one particular sign. And what would that be? It would be a resurgence of open air preaching, with Christians venturing out of the Evangelical Ghetto and into the public arena. "Ooer, not me, I don't feel called, and anyway, I'm pretty sure it isn't for today, or if it is, it's against the law, and we're told to obey the state as good Christian citizens..." Too much of a caricature? I don't think so. Even in relatively lively bible-believing churches, there is little appetite for open air preaching. Well, when was the last time you heard a sermon on the subject? It's rarer than one on the horrors of hell…

Incidentally, I’d be willing to bet that if I gave £10.00 to everyone reading this who believed in a biblical hell, and then everyone reading this who (in their heart of hearts) didn’t go all the way with an eternity of torment sent me £10.00, then I would end up with enough money to pay my energy bills for quite a while. For those folk who have their doubts, I recommend John Blanchard’s booklet “The Truth About Hell” (from EP Books). But you don’t really want to read anything along those lines, do you?

Be that as it may, last Wednesday's Open Air was pretty similar to the one the week before, i.e. good all round. And yes, we did warn people about a hell to be shunned before getting on to a heaven to be gained. Why would anyone want to be saved if there was nothing that they needed to be saved from?

If you would like to join us tomorrow, we'll be in the usual place at about 12.30pm, just on the edge of Piccadilly Gardens, opposite Superdrug. If you can't join us, then please spend a few moments in prayer for us, if the Lord puts it upon your heart to do so.

Every blessing!