Fearless warrior at the front of the fight
He was not billed by the organisers to address the crowd, but with his melodious singing, his message of God’s love, freedom in Christ, and the need for repentance, Evangelist Godfrey “Jesse” Williams captured the full attention of patrons at the Freedom Street concert recently held at the National Stadium.
Seemingly unbothered by the nudity, the revelry, and the profanity around him, as thousands flocked to the venue to celebrate the release of Vybz Kartel, the formerly incarcerated artiste, Williams, with a microphone in hand, gave a performance aimed at pleasing God by wooing lost souls.
“…the mission is to remind the people that Jesus Christ is the true freedom and in Christ Jesus is liberty and freedom from sin, and when you accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, He will afford you an opportunity to come into the New Jerusalem, to walk the true original Street of Freedom, which is the street of gold. But first you have to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. When you accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, He will afford you that wonderful privilege by writing your name in the Lamb’s Book of Life,” he told those who spared the time to listen.
The event was sold out from October when tickets went on sale, despite the hefty price tag. The stadium was transformed to facilitate a night of pure, unadulterated lust and donmanship. Hotel moguls, politicians, entrepreneurs, social media influencers, and many others flocked to the event hoping to capitalise on what was dubbed one of the biggest gatherings in the last decade. Evangelist Williams seemed like an oddity as he proclaimed God’s love, pleading with the patrons to turn away from sin.
“I am not afraid; I am not ashamed. Some of you might be saying, how dare he preach the gospel to us because, you may know of my past sins, but I want to let you know everybody that passed into the Pearly Gates of Heaven are people that are saved by God’s grace. Jesus Christ came to save sinners. It doesn’t matter who you are, how far you have reached in sin; the blood of Jesus Christ is able to reach you, and to save you, and to deliver you; that is what the power of God’s grace is,” he calmly shared.
The evangelist’s presence was welcomed by some but was frowned upon by others who felt he should have reserved his preaching for church and allowed the revellers to have their day. There were those who lamented that secular artistes could not go to the church and play their music without protest and thought his presence at the venue was hypocritical. But Evangelist Williams was very strident in the delivery of his message, which he backgrounded with traditional hymns such as “Grace, Grace, God’s Grace”, “God will take care of you”, and “This is my Father’s world.”