"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" (Matthew 5:44)
January 2004 Newsletter
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that
curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you,
and persecute you;" (Matthew 5:44)
At noon on a busy business day our
college held our mandatory street meeting in downtown Austin, TX. Some 10 girls and nearly an equal amount of boys,
plus several adults began with the usual songs, accompanied by my accordion and a trumpet. For the first few minutes we enjoyed the regular
apathetic response from the business community as well as the bus stop people. Then Leslie showed up. Leslie is Austin’s token vile person. One glance and you can fully understand what the
Lord meant when He called them abominable. Romans
chapter one, Deuteronomy 22:5, and 1
Corinthians 6:9 are all vividly illustrated by this creature. He is well known here and is highly praised by the
business passersby as well as hailed by cab drivers.
He is all too familiar with the present troubles of Capitol City Baptist
church and all the publicity surrounding our recent reprehensible trial. Leslie stands on our same corner clad in less
female attire than meets the minimum to avoid indecent exposure. He shouts, as loud as we preach, vile vulgarities,
blasphemies, vicious lies, and cursing. We
tried every trick in the book…nothing changes. In
my book, “I AM NOT ASHAMED” I distinguish between the enemy and the victim in my
discourse on Proverbs seven. They are to be
dealt with differently. It is my personal
belief Leslie is an enemy of righteousness. Please
pray the Lord will take care of this troublesome, vulgar matter.
My
small car, which rides inside the trailer when we travel, has a six inch diameter, seven
foot long PVC pipe attached to the roof for the purpose of transporting my banners for
street work. The proportions and color make
it look like a small army tank with a bazooka on top.
Coming out of a store I noticed a man observing my bazooka. I offered to explain it and showed him the
contents. I said, “These are street
preaching banners…I’m a street preacher.” He quickly replied, “Oh
yeah, my AUNT is a street preacher
too.” I wished I had never bothered.
Because of our settling down, for four
months, in our home church in Austin, TX., we do most of our street meetings here with the
college, church, and visiting friends. We
have held eleven street meetings in this city since I wrote my last newsletter on
Christmas eve. We have preached in front of
the capitol building, in front of a mall, at a major intersection, on the campus of
University of Texas (the largest campus in U.S.), in the business district, and in the bar
district. We had many servants out for a New
Year’s Eve street meeting in the bar district. We
have a great many of our men who will readily preach and many others who participate in
some form. We also held street meetings in
nearby towns such as Wimberly, TX., San Marcos, TX., and Lockhart,
TX.
We were privileged to minister in the
following churches this past month. Capitol
City Bapt., Pastor Hank Thompson, Austin, TX., Scenic Hills Bapt., Pastor Gary Evans,
Austin, TX., Trinity Bapt., Pastor Ron Mills, Texas City, TX., and Val Verde Bapt., Pastor
Brent Stancil, Groves, TX. where a husband and wife were saved Sun. A.M.
We enjoy this respite off the road. We are allowed four months of “normal”
life…that is, driving a car only, regular services in our home church, teaching at
our Bible College, piano and art lessons for Mary, ladies fellowship for Robin, college
classes for Caroline, and no breakdowns, flat tires, or sharp curves in our 62 foot motor
home and trailer. We are usually busier in
the King’s business during this time than when we are on the road. Everyone is getting through this winter reasonably
healthy. Hey…you Yankees…do you
believe in “global warming?” Come
and see us in mild Austin, TX.
We continue to have need of nothing but your prayer...
CONTACT US ANY TIME
Cell Phone: 530-304-6107
E-mail: gsutek@streetpreaching.com