A Sound of Battle

I was alone and idle, I was a sinner too. I heard a voice from heaven saying there is work to do. So I took the master's hand and I joined the Christian band.

Now I'm on the battlefield for my Lord. Oh I'm on the battlefield for my Lord. Oh I'm on the battlefield for my Lord.

And I promised him that I would serve until I die. I'm on the battlefield for my Lord. I am missionary Richard Yerby on the spiritual battlefield for our Lord in Buddhist Japan.

Now with another sermon on the theme of Neither Was I Quiet, which is perfect and upright Job's declaration in Job chapter 3 verse 26. This sermon is titled A Sound of Battle, taken from Jeremiah 50 verse 52 which reads, A sound of battle is in the land. When I first entered, we could say invaded, this Buddhist stronghold town of Matsue to Japan in October 1977 with an overnight bag and got me an upstairs room in which to lodge in a little Japanese inn.

I was soon shocked to learn that vacant rental housing was just about non-existent here. I prayed hard for God to provide me with a house to rent and so rejoiced when I found one after about nine months of hard searching and praying. I moved into it on August the 1st 1978 and still live in it now in the year 2025.

I didn't even own a bicycle then in my poverty much less a motor vehicle so I walked all over town looking for the children playing outside who knew me. When I found any children I told them that I now had a house and told them where it was. Thank God they flocked to it just as they had previously flocked to me in the park to see me there.

So I immediately started Sunday school each Sunday morning and attendance was good. Also it was like open house most every day of the week as children showed up most any time of the day except during the school time. They came to play but I required bible and singing also.

For about six months after I rented this house children showed up unannounced and unscheduled more days than that they did not show up. Oh it was a blessed time. I soon announced services for adults on Sundays and just a few came.

I soon learned the disappointing thing about building a church in Japan. Despite all prayers and efforts one often builds down instead of up. Attendance is the highest at the start and steadily goes down.

People flocked out when I first came here but mainly out of curiosity and excitement overseeing a Caucasian person which was a most rare sight in this town at that time. No other Caucasian lived in this town then though some missionaries and English teachers came here regularly for their business. When I first came to Matsuida a good number of people came to see me and to attend my evangelistic services but it was usually not out of a desire to hear about the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was mainly for the same reason the crowd would go to a circus. It is rare and exciting and have you ever thought about why the circus only stays in town a few days? It is because the excitement soon fades and therefore the crowds increase a decrease in number. When I came to Matsuida people flocked around to see me for just about the same reason they go see a circus clown and as excitement faded away so did the people.

Within three months after I moved here in August of 1978 the number of people who came to my house began steadily decreasing and just about reached zero in the year 1986. Anyway those first two years were most blessed with young ones and a few old people adults coming often and I would tell them all I could about eternal life in Christ. Previously in that parking town with many children flocking around me and now in my house with guests coming often neither was I quiet Job.

During that autumn of 1978 and the following winter as I sadly watched the numbers drop God's leading to get out and preach in public steadily became clearer as time passed. So when the weather warmed up a little in the spring of 1979 on April the 13th I got out and preached on the streets here in Matsuida for the first time. For months I had prayed for courage to get started doing that and when I finally did start what great joy and satisfaction it brought to my soul.

Words cannot describe it to God be the glory for it. He honors such though I continued having Sunday services in my house and doing what I could to get people to attend them. From the first day that I started that street preaching it became my main missionary work till September of 1980.

I often did it seven days a week up to six or seven hours a day sometimes. I know that is a short work day but my voice was usually gone after about six hours or so. I never used any mechanical means to amplify my voice but neither was I quiet not at least not until my voice gave out.

The rest of my time each day was often spent alone with God in Bible study and intercessory prayer for those who were hearing my preaching. Save them Lord I earnestly prayed. At that time I gave out very little Christian literature because I seldom had money to buy it but I had a voice.

God gave it to me free without monetary cost. When he created me he gave me that voice to tell other people about him so with his help I hope to always use it for that purpose. To date year 2025 I have continued to preach out in public regularly and hope to do so until I die or until Christ returns to take me home.

But because street preaching was my main outreach from April of 1979 till September of 1980 that short period benefited me so much spiritually and now abounds with such rich precious memories. Words cannot adequately convey that to you. It was a time when my life was so uncluttered and free from the cares of this life and things of the world.

I had so few other affairs to attend to and almost nothing else on my mind besides going out daily and preaching simple salvation messages to all the lost Japanese around me. Therefore my eye was ever so single and what a blessing that was. Listen to the holy scriptures.

The light of the body is is the eye. Therefore when thine eye is single that thy whole body also is full of light but when thine eye is evil thy body also is full of darkness. Luke chapter 11 verse 34.

Daily I walk these many narrow streets and alleys stopping every 30 feet or so to preach a three minute sermon claiming Buddhist souls for Christ as I did so. I became very familiar with everyday life in town. I learned a lot of people's faces but few names.

Though most of the people resented my intrusion my heart became molded to this town as I fasted and prayed for a spiritual awakening here. Would you also please pray for that? I would appreciate it. Once a nearby neighbor man somewhat vile person walked to a service in my house and remarked to me that it made a profound impression on him to see me preaching near his house holding my umbrella as a light snow fell.

I would stay on the job in light snow or rain holding forth the word of life. The one thing these Japanese souls need. The one thing you or I or anyone needs.

I lost my flag in battle. My staff is in my hand. I'm taking it to Jesus over in the promised land.

In distant lands I've trod. Crying sinner come to God. I'm on the battlefield for my Lord.

Oh I'm on the battlefield for my Lord. Yes I'm on the battlefield for my Lord. And I promised him that I would serve him till I die.

I'm on the battlefield for my Lord. How glorious it be. It is sheer joy unspeakable to daily trod many places in this distant land of Japan on the battlefield for our Lord and Captain Jesus Christ.

Crying out forsake your Buddhist and Shinto idols and come to your creator God to live forever. As 1979 wore on I became desirous to go further distances to preach as I had repeatedly preached up and down the streets of Matsuida. About that time a friend gave me a used bicycle free so I finally had some wheels.

Then I began to pedal that bicycle east to the adjacent and larger city of Annaka where densely populated areas were even more abundant than in this smaller town of Matsuida. From April of 1979 to September of 1980 I was richly blessed spiritually as I preached out in most everyday lots of days till my voice gave out. God filled my heart to overflowing with joy.

He gave me much spiritual growth which I firmly believe was a direct result and reward of that street preaching. His presence was so close real and glorious. These things made me so rich.

Also another important thing that made me ever so spiritually rich and that was physical poverty. I know thy works and tribulation and poverty but thou art rich. The Lord told that church in Revelation chapter 2 verse 9. My works then were bible study, praying, fasting and public preaching.

There was some tribulation and there was frequent dire physical poverty but thou art rich. The bible promises. Amen.

I sure was. I was so rich. Physical poverty is most conducive to spiritual richness in a believer's life and the opposite is just as true.

Physical riches are conducive to spiritual poverty as believers will come to live for all the exciting things that money will buy. Listen to the Lord speaking to the Laodicean church because thou sayest I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. Read it yourself in Revelation chapter 3 verse 17 what the Lord declares to us present day Laodicean church folks.

In prosperous nations that is the condition of much of the lukewarm Laodicean body of Christ today living for the many varied pleasures that all their increase of goods brings to them but spiritually those Christians are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. That same passage of scripture tells us though most Laodiceans are without enough spiritual sense to realize that is their condition and we readily see the physically rich churches resorting to bringing the world and then even sin into the church to induce people to come and indulge in that which God so strongly opposes. Had I been blessed with plenty of money when I started missionary work I may have succumbed to using it to finance a lot of worldly activities to draw a crowd or engaging in worthless activity and then brag about the success of the vain worldly uproar that I had going on.

Praise God for saving me from such foolishness by giving me the wonderful blessing of poverty. What a rich blessing in disguise is that of poverty and you say amen to that? I could give out very little Christian literature because I had no money with which to buy it so as I said my activities consisted mainly of street preaching, bible study, prayer, and fasting. Fasting was greatly aided by the fact that at times I had no money to buy food.

From the time I moved to Matsuda in August 1978 till about June 1980 I had no refrigerator. Not having one was sort of a moot point as I usually had no food to put into it. The times I had no food to prepare and eat afforded that extra time for preaching, praying, bible study, and of course fasting.

Oh I was so rich, rich beyond measure. The Lord said I know thy poverty but thou art rich the scripture promises. Amen.

I certainly was. I had the riches of most close fellowship with my precious Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore Jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood suffered without the gate.

Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp bearing his reproach. We read in Hebrews chapter 13 verses 12 and 13. One way that we can go unto Jesus outside of the camp is to go outside our dwellings and outside our church houses to proclaim the Savior, exalt Christ, lift Jesus high out in public in the presence of the surrounding human race.

His presence and his fellowship is ever so dear and precious there when we obey his invitation to do that. But so few Christians will do it simply because they are ashamed to bear his reproach, proud and ashamed of his reproach. As we proclaim Christ out in public it hurts our sinful pride severely the way people reproach us.

Therefore we refuse his glory-filled invitation here in Hebrews to go unto him without the count bearing his reproach. Oh what blessed riches we miss out on when we refuse to do that. Let's pray.

My dear Lord Jesus please help me not to spurn this wonderful invitation of thine. Please give me victory over sinful pride and help me not to be ashamed to bear thy reproach out in public before the devil's crowd. Help all my fellow believers to also please thee and bring much glory unto thee by obeying this blessed invitation of thine.

Amen. At the start of my missionary journey dire poverty often prevented me from using any evangelistic method that required unrighteous mammon. So I had little choice but to opt for a mammon free method going unto the Lord without the count and bearing his reproach as I stood ever so close to him and he abode most close by me while I was proclaiming him to the many Japanese who were adamantly rejecting him.

That close fellowship was ever so precious. How true it is that the best things in life are free. Amen.

So from autumn 1979 through the spring 1980 many of my days were filled with long hours of street preaching. I preached a lot of days in the adjacent city of Anaka instead of here in the town of Matsuda where I live. I would pedal my bicycle down to Anaka about noon and sometimes preach till after 8 p.m. Then I would steadily pedal that bicycle back home up to four or five miles up a steady slight incline most of the way often into a headwind flowing down off that huge live volcano further ahead Mount Asama.

Arriving home after 9 p.m. having eaten no supper sometimes with no food in the house I would sit with my Bible open right in the midst of the glorious presence of my savior Jesus Christ. Other than one chair, a desk, a small low folding table my house was void of furniture. There is no tv practically nothing with which to amuse or entertain myself therefore our God whose name is jealous, Exodus 34 14 tells us, was ever so glad to fill the empty house with his splendid glory oh how wonderful it was.

I'm fighting for the kingdom the battle's almost won the trumpet will be sounding for the coming of the sun I'll lay my armor down pick up my robe and crown I'll walk the streets of gold with my lord oh I'm on the battlefield for my lord yes I'm on the battlefield for my lord and I promised him that I would serve him till I die I'm on the battlefield for my lord I recall one particular cold day in the winter of 1979 and 1980 arriving home well after 9 p.m. cold and exhausted after pedaling my bicycle slightly uphill over four miles after standing preaching for six hours or so throughout a wide area in the city of Anahka I had eaten very little all day two quite small potatoes was all the food in my house and I had no money peddling home I debated eating both potatoes tonight or saving one potato for tomorrow arriving home I sat down in my little kitchen cold tired and hungry to catch my breath with thoughts of eating potatoes I had only two small portable electric heaters for heat in this cold house but I didn't bother to turn on either one of them rather I just sat down in the cold kitchen still bundled up to catch my breath after peddling that bicycle uphill over four miles before I fixed the tater to eat I was plenty worn out after holding forth the word of life for many hours with no encouraging word from any of the many buddhist people who heard it but my precious lord knew just what I needed after such a bland day so he just came right into my little cold kitchen his presence and great glory were so real and so blessed that I was quite overcome by it all as I sat there basking in the most real and glorious presence of my dear lord the concrete reality of his presence with me overcame my hunger and cold causing me to forego alleviating either one of them just to sit there basking in the great glory of almighty god I have meat to eat that you know not Jesus declared to his disciples in John 4 verse 32 words cannot begin to describe that marvelous fellowship there was no wind no fire not even a still small voice just the glorious reality of almighty god right there with me the definite reality of his very presence right there with me in that cold kitchen thoroughly convinced me of how highly pleasing it was to my lord for me to simply stand out in public open my mouth and tell everyone thus said the lord god I was so poor but I was also the richest person in the whole world Charles Dickens said it ever so well it was the best of times it was the worst of times all of us know the truth of that paradox looking back on the worst of times we can later realize that they were the best of times that the vice versa is usually true there were many nights like that glorious one I just described when I would pedal home late after preaching several hours and the presence of my lord here with me in this little house was so real and precious there were plenty of nights when I lay me down to sleep with an empty stomach but so full of the joy of the lord that it just flowed out of my upturned toes as I lay there on my palate uh on the my Japanese straw mat floor thinking about heaven and one day soon I will turn up my toes in death to go out to meet the reward for what I did with my life here on earth and how I rejoice that I haven't been quiet about eternal matters neither was I quiet amen by the way god bless each of you friends who support me financially so that I can eat when absolutely necessary if god lays it on your heart to provide me with another tater anytime on my website is my postal address in Vernon Alabama where you can mail a check also on my website is the connection for donating by paypal that url is christisall.us separating those three words with two dashes christ-is-all.us one day soon you're going to turn up your toes in death by all means make when that day comes make sure it is the most joyous and glorious day of your life by giving him your utmost while you're alive here on this earth