November 1998 Newsletter
"...he calleth them all by their
names." Psalm 147:4
PERSONALIZED PUBLICK MINISTRY
I may be accused of taking this verse out of context but this is
what came to my mind when a strange thing happened to me the other day on the street. I
was preaching in Mena, AK with pastor Jerry Musgrove and his family. This being only the
second time I have ever been in Mena; I knew no one but the pastor's family. We were
preaching at an intersection to cars stopped for the traffic signal. Every car and face is
new to me but as I half pay attention to the pastor as he preaches I notice a new element
in publick ministry. "For God so loved you, Jack, that he gave his only begotten
son..." I looked into the truck at the light to see the man named Jack looking right
at the preacher and "if looks could kill...". The light changes and the preacher
repositions to the traffic that is stopped and once again I hear "Christ Jesus came
into the world to die for sinners such as you, Carol, so that you might be saved". I
quickly looked over to notice Carol begging the light to change so that her personalized
conviction could be left behind. I asked the preacher's wife about this and she told the
story of her husband who was raised in this thumbnail town and was the town drunk until he
was saved at thirty five and has been preaching here ever since. You gotta hand it to him,
man, that takes courage, real courage. If you don't believe it just go back to the town
where you were a teenager and preach on the street near your neighborhood.
ON THE STREETS
The team made the front page of the second section of the Mobile
newspaper this month as we preached in the park in downtown Mobile, AL. I was preaching
max volume in order to reach all the folks in the park and unfortunately the camera zoomed
in on my mouth and I looked like I was ready to take a bite out of the tail of a wild
bore. I guess bad press is better than no press at all. We ministered another time in that
park as well as Alabama's largest flea market. Then we had a "gay ole time"
preaching in late evening to the sodomite bars in downtown Pensacola, FL. That mess is
abomination to the Christian community and should be contended with. Pr. 28:4. A couple of
hearty preachers are faithful at it and I thank God for them. We woke up sleepy downtown
DeFuniak Springs, FL as we joined Roger Grandstaff and some of his church members in
ministering righteousness in their town. We hurried on to one of our all time favorite
cities to minister in, Memphis, TN. Teaming up with long time veteran Ken Lansing we
stormed the campus of Memphis State U as well as blasted Beale St. several times. We also
held huge banners at the entrances of two major shopping malls on the busiest shopping day
of the year to testify against America's two prevalent gods...PRIDE AND MATERIALISM. This
is the biggest cult ever because if and when these two gods die their devotees will follow
quickly in mass suicide. One of my favorite publick messages at this time of the year is
"Don't lie to your kids about Santa Claus...tell them the truth about Jesus
Christ". Does that make you choke...WHY? Elijah preached against the gods of Israel
and Paul preached against the god of education in the middle of the seat of
learning...Athens. I doubt if our Lord would recommend them to stand in line at 6 AM to be
one of the "lucky ones" to pay too much for the years hottest toy while they
call the police to keep from hearing about the purpose of the Lord's birth.
FEAR HINDERS PUBLICK MINISTRY
Following are some excerpts from a letter I received recently.
This describes the war between the flesh and the spirit quite vividly. "Dear Mr.
Sutek...after reading your books, my heart caught on fire for this thing of street
preaching. I began thinking about it constantly. I knew that I must do it, but I was
scared to death. I spent 6 years as an infantryman in the Marine Corp., I have been to
war, I'm a big man, I used to be a powerlifter and I thought I was so tough. But street
preaching has opened my eyes to how much of a coward I really am....I wanted so bad to do
it. I wanted to be a bold witness for the Lord Jesus Christ, but I couldn't find the
courage...I decided to provoke myself to preach on the street by inviting my Sunday school
class to go...I knew I had to go now...but I was so sorry I had made this obligation...I
intended to preach but I couldn't. I was scared. But as my confidence grew I began to feel
more comfortable. I began to see these people reject the gospel, make faces etc. I wanted
to preach so bad...THEN IT HAPPENED. I was holding a sign and there was this man and he
refused to even look at our signs...that is what I needed. I began to shout the gospel the
best I knew how. I said to myself that if he wouldn't read it I'd read it for him. THAT
DAY WAS SO WONDERFUL. I preached and preached and preached. I preached until my voice was
worn out. I HAD DONE IT! I DEFEATED THE DEVIL! HALLELUJAH. I feel like a different person!
I want to do this regularly. I am a different Christian because of this thing of street
preaching and being a publick witness". Signed Christopher Loop.
IN THE CHURCHES
We were honored to minister in the following churches this past
month. Sweet Springs Baptist, pastor Joel Logan, Ardmore, AL.; Westwood Baptist, pastor
Tommy Watts, Mobile, AL.; Fisherman Baptist, pastor Wayne Mund, Bon Secour, AL.;
Lighthouse Baptist, pastor Roger Grandstaff, DeFuniak Spgs, FL.; Victory Baptist, pastor
Tim Fellure, Milton, FL.; Bible Baptist, pastor Dennis Black, Bolivar, TN.; Bible
Believer's Baptist, pastor Jerry Musgrove, Mena, AK.; and Grace Baptist, pastor John
Lemmon, Memphis, TN.
P E R S O N A L
Aside from a few pains here and there, and mostly there, and
mostly in my wife, we are all doing very well. Still no word from Janet Reno's office on
Mary Bethany's immigration paperwork. We appreciate your continued prayer on that. David
is still a great asset to the team. We are headed back out west and in a few weeks hope to
play host to a whole lot of you at the 6th STREET PREACHER'S
CONVENTION ...THE WEST COAST BLITZ ...
We continue to have need of nothing but your prayer...
CONTACT US ANY TIME
1-800-428-3660
or e-mail: gsutek@ix.netcom.com
Preaching the gospel on your
streets and around the world.
Gerald Sutek
and the S.W.A.T. Team for Christ
2 Tim. 1:8, Amos 5:10