Around this same period of time I was compelled to do something else as well. I began preaching the gospel in open-air. I have watched and listened to men who preach in open-air, some do well and some very badly. Some preach the gospel and some simply preach against men and never actually preach the gospel. As I have done this I have always been compelled to use the scriptures in my preaching. I have written a few articles about this. We are not the witnesses of Jesus Christ, His apostles are, and they have left us with their witness in written form.
I see now what I am to do. I am to combine these two compulsions of memorizing the Gospel According to John and preaching in open-air. I have done this in the past in part but not in full. My preaching is always peppered with what I have memorized, but has not been the primary until now. I am to present the gospel of Jesus Christ as given through the written word of His apostle John in dramatic verbal presentation, and can do this because I will be speaking from memory rather than reading aloud.
I know and understand that the sheep hear the voice of Jesus, all that the Father gives Him will come to Him. But in order for them to hear, someone must tell them, and if the Lord gives them ears to listen His sheep will come to Him. The Gospel According to John done in dramatic presentation in open-air affords the opportunity for His sheep to hear. Then after presenting the Gospel, I then have the opportunity to give and explain the command of God to repent and believe in the gospel.
Lord willing I plan to do this on the campus of Tyler Junior College one day every week through the fall semester in the free speech zone at the college. There are a total of 16 weeks in the semester with the first week being August 25-29 and the last week being December 8-12. I plan to spread this presentation out over the 16 weeks of the semester. The gospel according to John has 21 total chapters with 879 total verses. Most weeks I will be proclaiming a single chapter, but some weeks, when there are shorter chapters, I will be proclaiming two chapters. Glory to God!
