Public Ministry Prov. 1:20-23 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

When you read in Prov 1 that wisdom crieth without, you may wonder how she does it.  Wisdom crieth without through public ministry.

• Public ministry is public, Prov 1:20-21 – it is accomplished by publishing the word of God “without” the four walls of your church or house – it’s “in the streets,” in the “chief place of concourse” – in the “openings of the gates” – in the “city.”
• Public ministry is for the lost, Prov 1:22 – “simple ones,” “scorners,” and “fools.”
• Public ministry involves preaching, Prov 1:20-21 – wisdom “crieth” – she “uttereth” her voice, her words – these are not your words, but God’s “words,” Prov 1:23.
• Public ministry involves reproof, Prov 1:23 – the word of God reproves sinners, causing them to “turn.”
• Public ministry works, Prov 1:23 – people get saved through public ministry, “I will pour out my spirit unto you.”

Today, we’re going to see how you can get involved in public ministry.

Witness – no matter where you go during the day, you usually come in contact with people to whom you can minister – remember that you are an ambassador for Christ and so do the work of an ambassador – you don’t have to wait for the time and day of your church’s visitation program to tell others about Christ – you should be a witness wherever you go – in the morning pray and be aware that the people you meet that day may be the very people the Lord is dealing with about salvation – be alert to the leadership of the Holy Spirit so that as he prompts you to speak on his behalf you can quote a verse of scripture or witness to someone to whom he leads you.

Give out tracts – the easiest way to minister in public is to give out Bible tracts.  You can give these out to just about anybody in the “chief place of concourse” – you can give them to hosts, wait staff,  cashiers and tellers, to people at the next gas pump, to delivery personnel, to your postal carrier, and to other pedestrians – you can pass them out in large quantities at public events like parades and festivals – you can rent a booth and give them out at flea markets and fairs – and of course you can give them to your friends and neighbors – any time and in any place you can give a person a tract – always go out with tracts in your pocket or purse and give them out continually.  Encourage your pastor to install a tract rack in a convenient location in your church.

Preach on the street – this is best done as a ministry of your church where you and a few other members go to a public venue conducive to public preaching – write an abbreviated sermon with more scripture than points or illustrations and preach it to those passing by or congregated in an area where it is legal to preach – this could be in the free speech zone at your local college or university, in an appropriate place at a public event like a parade, or at a common attraction in your city [like the Alamo, in San Antonio] – you could even preach out of a fancy classic truck or on a float in the parade – you could preach at a busy intersection when people are prone to drive with their windows down or when they are walking to a large event – any legal place where you can be heard and that has a lot of people is a good venue for public preaching.

Go door to door – this is tougher than it used to be but it should be done to counter the false preaching of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons – be very presentable and courteous and be prepared to give whoever answers the door as much of the gospel as he or she is willing to hear – also have a “marked” New Testament or a tract ready to hand out in case the person answering the door doesn’t want to visit – at least with one of these you have sown the seed.

Conclusion: if you will keep in mind that you are an ambassador for Christ and that every person with whom you come in contact is a person to whom you can preach and if you will go out “armed” with gospel tracts and a New Testament, you can minister publicly any time and any place the Lord wants you to utter his words.  Thus, in your life it will be true that wisdom crieth without.