Panic?

Through the way we honor the Lord, as we are submissive to Him, we send a powerful message to
those around us about His presence in and through us. Psalm 96 says:
1 Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
3 Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.

As the Spirit equips and empowers us, we can proclaim the salvation of Christ, the gospel, the "good news:" that God has sent His Son to earth to redeem fallen humanity, to restore us to God's design, to repair the brokenness that is so prevalent.  He is our Savior, our healer, our restorer, who has come to unite us in fellowship with God the Father.  We can be motivated to reflect and relate what He has done in our lives!

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There is a passage in 2nd Corinthians 2 that can remind us of the impact that God will make on the
lives of people through our obedience:
14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

You may not find yourself in this situation, but Redlands, California preacher Michael Webber has a very unique pastime - delivering sermons in theatres...while the credits roll.

And, his most recent incident resulted in police being sent out and the preacher being arrested.  CBS Los Angeles reported:

Armed officers rushed to the Harkins Mountain Grove 16 theaters in Redlands, where people had just finished watching the latest installment of the “Avengers” franchise, fearing there might a gunman inside. Witnesses said when the movie was over, a man stood up and started yelling in what sounded like a preacher’s sermon.

A witness told CBS2 News, “I think when he said, ‘If you were to die tonight, would your passage to heaven be guaranteed?’ — something along those lines — I think that’s when people started panicking..."

Webber told the television station: “Last night was an anomaly,” adding, “The lights did not turn up for quite a few minutes, and so I really couldn’t see anyone’s reaction except those of the people just right around me.” The story also says, "He added he didn’t know the people in the theater couldn’t see he had his hands up, showing he did not have a weapon."  The article states, "Webber has been charged with a misdemeanor. He told CBS2 this will not deter his evangelizing, but he might reconsider his setting."

From Webber's perspective, according to the Hello Christian website, he told The Christian Post:

"The most unusual part about this particular night was that every other time that I have stood to preach in theaters, the lights would come up as the credits began," Webber continued. "But this night they did not. However, I did not perceive it to be a problem because my hands were up (evidencing that I was unarmed, and not a threat). And up until about mid-way through the salvation prayer, no one in the theater moved."

He said a few people had told him to sit down, but he completed his speech and viewed the post-credit scene.  People then began to ask who gave the speech and he was "shouted at and berated."
There were people waiting in the lobby to harass him, as well.  He was not aware of people "running for their lives," as media had reported.

The article includes these words:

As for Webber, you can expect him to continue diligently sharing the gospel to all who will hear it, in spite of the massive backlash from this incident: "The common thread I hear from people who disagreed with what I did is that it wasn't the right 'time and place' to stand up and preach."

"Christians need to realize that if we don't stand up now, there won't be ANY 'times or places' left. There was a period of time in America where standing up to preach the Gospel would have been met with applause. But even in past times when I've preached, the message has been met with cursing, objects being thrown, and so on."

Yes, one could argue that the context was wrong: a dark theater with a message that alluded to people dying that night.  This is certainly a story that could cause some discomfort, as we perhaps look at whether or not we would be in that situation.

So, let's move into some principles that we can all embrace, I would think.  For one thing, we are all called to share our faith.  Period.  Now, there are many methods regarding how that could be done.  There are those that engage in more public ministry; others struggle to share the gospel one-on-one. But, we can rely on the Holy Spirit to equip us to testify to who Jesus is and what He has done for us.

We can agree that we are commissioned to go.  And, Rev. Webber is right, if we don't take the opportunities we have, then those opportunities may decrease - legally.  We have seen court cases where people publicly proclaim the gospel and are arrested for it.  We see in the book of Acts where faithful proclaimers of truth faced prison for their faithfulness.  We pray that would not be the case in America, land of the free and home of the brave, but it does seem that hostility toward or lack of understanding of spiritual things is on the rise.  So, there is a greater sense of urgency.

Finally, we can become more adept in sharing the truth of Christ in various contexts. That may or may not involve public proclamation to a group of people, but it can be shared in a one-on-one encounter, in what is called a "gospel conversation."  There are numerous methods through which we can share His truth - of course, being able to relate our personal testimony is powerful.

There are also resources, such as the Southern Baptist tool incorporating the "Three Circles."  You can see more through the website LifeOnMissionBook.com/Conversation-Guide, which includes information on the basic flow, which is:  One circle represents God's Design, which is corrupted by sin, leading to Brokenness - that's the second circle.  The Gospel - the third circle - offers the answer to brokenness and compels one to repent and believe.  Through the Gospel, a person can recover and pursue God's design.   And, yes, there is an app for that.