(This is Part 3 of a 3 part series. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.)
This morning was Sunday and the day after the Transformed conference. I got to church early to practice for worship, and my fishing buddy says, "Come with me after church. I want to go talk to somebody about Jesus. I'm making it my goal to talk to at least one person a day."
We take turns in witnessing, alternating who drives the conversation. We learned from experience that 2 people trying to drive a witnessing encounter usually makes for a long, frustrating conversation that goes nowhere. Instead, one of us mostly carries the conversation while the other prays.
Of course that meant that today was my turn.
Something else I learned: at a men's prayer meeting, I had the opportunity to talk with a guy who came to check the fire extinguishers. But I barely got into the conversation before we ran out of time and were interrupted. The solution? Always carry gospel tracts with you. It happened again today, but I was prepared.
We went to a gas station near church, because time was short and the weather was rainy and yucky. (Yes, the gas station is covered.) Charlie is my eyes, so he found someone to talk to. We approached the man as he was pumping gas and asked if I could share something with him that I was asked to practice from a conference I just went to. He agreed. I asked if he was a good person, and he said no. I asked if he had a Christian background, and he said "nondemoninational." So I asked if he'd kept the ten commandments, and went through a few of them. He admitted to being a liar, and theif, and an adulterer in the eyes of Jesus. I asked if he'd be innocent or guilty, and he said....innocent. I reasoned with him: would you say it's fair to say that you've committed 3 sins a day? No, of course not.
"Really? God sees every thought. Everything you've done in secret. 3 sins a day?" He agreed.
"Man, that's 1000 sins every year of your life. If God is just, how can he let you go with a wrap sheet like that?" He agreed. At that point, he was finished pumping his gas. Feeling like I might be pushing my luck, I pulled out a World's Best Optical Illusions tract from my pocket and handed it to him. I said, "I know you're done, and I appreciate you talking with us. This tells you how you can get to Heaven." He took the tract, shook our hands and was off. Unlike our church's fire extinguisher guy, he got the Gospel even though we ran out of time.
Charlie stirs me up. I'm serious. If you don't have someone who stirs you up, pray for him or her. Pray for open doors in your conversations today. Look for them. They're all around each of us. Mention something having to do with God in your natural conversations, and say, "Do you ever think about spiritual stuff much? What do you think happens when we die? Do you think there's a Heaven? Do you think you're good enough to go there?" and you're off and running. My primary goal for this blog is to encourage you to share your faith. Remember that God has chosen the foolishness of preaching to reach this world for Jesus Christ. The FOOLISHNESS of preaching. Count me in.
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Showing posts with label fishing report. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fishing report. Show all posts
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Fishing Report: Mitch's Problem and Our Problem
It was a rare Sunday fishing trip on August 1, as we headed out for a rare late afternoon trip to speak with folks about eternity. We normally go on Saturday mornings, so it was hard to know what to expect.
We went to the local park we usually go to, and there was hardly anyone there. Not surprising, since the heat index was about 108 degrees. We did, however, find a nice gentleman to speak with.
His name is Mitch, and he's 82 years old. He lost his wife 4 years ago, and has COPD. The biggest challenge with Mitch was getting him to care about eternal things. Each conversation is surprising and different in its own way. Here's a man who's no doubt facing eternity very soon, and his fate will be sealed for all eternity. Yet no amount of pleading, explaining, or illustrating could get him to care. Nathan presented the Gospel to him, but he really didn't care. I'm not sure it mattered a lot what we could've done.
Charlie and I had a bit of a different mindset. We wanted to plead with this man until he had some feeling of concern, or leave him to think about it. After the conversation, we had a long talk about, basically, our biggest problem - getting on the same page.
The closest we came to a solution - so that 3 people aren't dragging the conversation in 3 different directions - is to resolve to each take a conversation while the other 2 prayed and kept (mostly) silent. At this point, time was short, so we were off to find some more fish. The next conversation was mine.
As it turns out, we approached 2 people who go to a local church here in town (the same church as our frisbee golfers last time). They said they were Christians. I told them, "OK, I'm putting you on the spot. I've got 3 minutes to live, I've got a knife i my back. What must I do to be saved?"
For 30 seconds, they him-hawed nervously, fumbling for the words, not knowing how to respond.
"I've go 2 and a half minutes left! What must I do? Hurry!" I challenged.
\
Surprisingly, they could both clearly articulate the Gospel (sort of). I asked them when was the last time they shared the Gospel with someone. They both could relay an encounter with someone they've witnessed to in the last couple months, and I think we all left very encouraged.
Time was running out. It was time to get a fish for Nathan. Unfortunately, the person we approached didn't want any part of a spiritual conversation, and time was up.
But Nathan's chance was only 6 short days away. Hopefully, you'll get to hear those conversations from today for yourself. I'm off to try to make that happen.
We went to the local park we usually go to, and there was hardly anyone there. Not surprising, since the heat index was about 108 degrees. We did, however, find a nice gentleman to speak with.
His name is Mitch, and he's 82 years old. He lost his wife 4 years ago, and has COPD. The biggest challenge with Mitch was getting him to care about eternal things. Each conversation is surprising and different in its own way. Here's a man who's no doubt facing eternity very soon, and his fate will be sealed for all eternity. Yet no amount of pleading, explaining, or illustrating could get him to care. Nathan presented the Gospel to him, but he really didn't care. I'm not sure it mattered a lot what we could've done.
Charlie and I had a bit of a different mindset. We wanted to plead with this man until he had some feeling of concern, or leave him to think about it. After the conversation, we had a long talk about, basically, our biggest problem - getting on the same page.
The closest we came to a solution - so that 3 people aren't dragging the conversation in 3 different directions - is to resolve to each take a conversation while the other 2 prayed and kept (mostly) silent. At this point, time was short, so we were off to find some more fish. The next conversation was mine.
As it turns out, we approached 2 people who go to a local church here in town (the same church as our frisbee golfers last time). They said they were Christians. I told them, "OK, I'm putting you on the spot. I've got 3 minutes to live, I've got a knife i my back. What must I do to be saved?"
For 30 seconds, they him-hawed nervously, fumbling for the words, not knowing how to respond.
"I've go 2 and a half minutes left! What must I do? Hurry!" I challenged.
\
Surprisingly, they could both clearly articulate the Gospel (sort of). I asked them when was the last time they shared the Gospel with someone. They both could relay an encounter with someone they've witnessed to in the last couple months, and I think we all left very encouraged.
Time was running out. It was time to get a fish for Nathan. Unfortunately, the person we approached didn't want any part of a spiritual conversation, and time was up.
But Nathan's chance was only 6 short days away. Hopefully, you'll get to hear those conversations from today for yourself. I'm off to try to make that happen.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Fishing Report: Rabbit Trails II
OK. First, let's talk about two weeks ago. We ventured out toward the park, blessed to have my buddy Nathan along this time. Before we even got to the park, we found a guy walking cross the Louisiana campus. We hopped out the van (well, Charlie did) and grabbed him. Me and Nathan stayed in the van talking, till Charlie came back with a puzzled look on his face that said, "Y'all coming fishing or what?"
It was the least productive two hours of witnessing I have ever experienced in my life. One conversation that went in so many different directions, targeting everything but the Gospel. Brandon was full of misdirection and redirection. Turns out he's ... um...let's say he's a post-Catholic pre-Mormon. Yeah, that's about how it went.
Two things he said that I want to record, though. One: baptism is required for salvation. When Jesus talked to Nicodemus about being born again, he was talking about baptism. Second, that when you "repent," you have to actually try hard to reform your life or it doesn't count.
About an hour into this conversation, I decided it was about time to wrap it up. Know how I know he wasn't listening to us? I addressed his assertion that baptism was neccessary to be saved:
"Why did Paul, who's life's work consist of preaching the Gospel and pleading with people to be saved, so much so that he was stoned, shipwrecked, left for dead, beaten, etc many times, say 'I'm thankful I never baptized any one of you?' (1 Cor 1:14-17) if baptism was required for their salvation?
And the theif on the cross...was he baptized? Jesus told him, 'today, you will be with Me in paradise.'"
Brandon said, "You don't know that the theif on the cross wasn't baptized."
Listen carefully, my Mormon friends. If you're reading this, I'm sorry to offend you, but that is intellectual dishonesty, at best.
It is appointed a man once to die, and after that the judgment (Heb 9:27). Nothing is done by proxy after you pass on, according to God's Word. When you leave this world, your fate is sealed, and it's Heaven or it's Hell for all of eternity. If you believe the theif got off the cross and went to be baptized and came back, or that someone came along later and was baptized for him, that's intellectual dishonesty. Besides, did that happen the same day? Because Jesus said, "Today, you will be with me in paradise ((Luke 23:39-43))." Thankfully, to follow Jesus, I don't have to check my brain at the door.
Second, repentance has nothing to do with "trying hard." Friend, you can't try hard enough to scrub yourself clean in God's sight. If I murder on Monday, help an old lady across the street on Tuesday, volunteer at a soup kitchen on Wednesday, say 100 Our Fathers on Thursday, read my bible and go to church every day, and wash the judge's car on my way into the courtroom for my trial on Friday, I'm still guilty of murder.
In fact, God sees even your righteousness as filthy rags (Isa 64:6). Not the bad stuff you've done. The "good" stuff. Because your "good" stuff is tainted with selfishness and pride and rebellion to God. Don't take my word for it. Read it for yourself.
Your trying hard isn't worth a dime in God's economy, and neither is mine. You need a new heart with new desires, and a change of mind about who God is that leads to a total change of the direction of your life. That is a gift from God that only comes when you release your trust in anything you contribute to your salvation and place that trust in the One who stepped into your courtroom and paid your fine by dying on the cross and rising from the dead. He does all the work, so that He gets all the glory. He gets all of the credit. If you contribute, whether by your repentance or your baptism, you earn your way to Heaven. That's not going to happen.
To be clear, you must repent. Jesus said so. And if you're born again, you will repent. But that doesn't save you. That's evidence you've already been saved.
And you'll get baptized. Not because you have to, but because you're commanded to by your Lord. Because you want to. Again, you now have a new heart that desires to do God's will. But you do this because you are saved, not to earn any kind of favor with God.
So I pointed these things out, and just as I was getting ready to utter, "Hey, thanks for talking with us. Have a great day," the conversation veered into another hour plus of fishing-time-stealing frustration.
Won't happen again, though.
Was so blessed and encouraged by Nathan coming with us. He loves the Lord and cares about people. He listens with empathy and he knows the Word. He was a tremendous encouragement!
We learned a lot from this conversation. It was far from a waste of time. The more I practice sharing my faith, the more I learn and the more I'm challenged to get into the bible and to pray hard. I can't wait to make more mistakes so that I can learn from them.
Thankfully, our last fishing trip (report coming) was much better...
It was the least productive two hours of witnessing I have ever experienced in my life. One conversation that went in so many different directions, targeting everything but the Gospel. Brandon was full of misdirection and redirection. Turns out he's ... um...let's say he's a post-Catholic pre-Mormon. Yeah, that's about how it went.
Two things he said that I want to record, though. One: baptism is required for salvation. When Jesus talked to Nicodemus about being born again, he was talking about baptism. Second, that when you "repent," you have to actually try hard to reform your life or it doesn't count.
About an hour into this conversation, I decided it was about time to wrap it up. Know how I know he wasn't listening to us? I addressed his assertion that baptism was neccessary to be saved:
"Why did Paul, who's life's work consist of preaching the Gospel and pleading with people to be saved, so much so that he was stoned, shipwrecked, left for dead, beaten, etc many times, say 'I'm thankful I never baptized any one of you?' (1 Cor 1:14-17) if baptism was required for their salvation?
And the theif on the cross...was he baptized? Jesus told him, 'today, you will be with Me in paradise.'"
Brandon said, "You don't know that the theif on the cross wasn't baptized."
Listen carefully, my Mormon friends. If you're reading this, I'm sorry to offend you, but that is intellectual dishonesty, at best.
It is appointed a man once to die, and after that the judgment (Heb 9:27). Nothing is done by proxy after you pass on, according to God's Word. When you leave this world, your fate is sealed, and it's Heaven or it's Hell for all of eternity. If you believe the theif got off the cross and went to be baptized and came back, or that someone came along later and was baptized for him, that's intellectual dishonesty. Besides, did that happen the same day? Because Jesus said, "Today, you will be with me in paradise ((Luke 23:39-43))." Thankfully, to follow Jesus, I don't have to check my brain at the door.
Second, repentance has nothing to do with "trying hard." Friend, you can't try hard enough to scrub yourself clean in God's sight. If I murder on Monday, help an old lady across the street on Tuesday, volunteer at a soup kitchen on Wednesday, say 100 Our Fathers on Thursday, read my bible and go to church every day, and wash the judge's car on my way into the courtroom for my trial on Friday, I'm still guilty of murder.
In fact, God sees even your righteousness as filthy rags (Isa 64:6). Not the bad stuff you've done. The "good" stuff. Because your "good" stuff is tainted with selfishness and pride and rebellion to God. Don't take my word for it. Read it for yourself.
Your trying hard isn't worth a dime in God's economy, and neither is mine. You need a new heart with new desires, and a change of mind about who God is that leads to a total change of the direction of your life. That is a gift from God that only comes when you release your trust in anything you contribute to your salvation and place that trust in the One who stepped into your courtroom and paid your fine by dying on the cross and rising from the dead. He does all the work, so that He gets all the glory. He gets all of the credit. If you contribute, whether by your repentance or your baptism, you earn your way to Heaven. That's not going to happen.
To be clear, you must repent. Jesus said so. And if you're born again, you will repent. But that doesn't save you. That's evidence you've already been saved.
And you'll get baptized. Not because you have to, but because you're commanded to by your Lord. Because you want to. Again, you now have a new heart that desires to do God's will. But you do this because you are saved, not to earn any kind of favor with God.
So I pointed these things out, and just as I was getting ready to utter, "Hey, thanks for talking with us. Have a great day," the conversation veered into another hour plus of fishing-time-stealing frustration.
Won't happen again, though.
Was so blessed and encouraged by Nathan coming with us. He loves the Lord and cares about people. He listens with empathy and he knows the Word. He was a tremendous encouragement!
We learned a lot from this conversation. It was far from a waste of time. The more I practice sharing my faith, the more I learn and the more I'm challenged to get into the bible and to pray hard. I can't wait to make more mistakes so that I can learn from them.
Thankfully, our last fishing trip (report coming) was much better...
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Why the Fishing Report?
Jesus told His Disciples, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." The Fishing Report is my attempt recount as many personal witnessing encounters as possible. This is not a place I come to brag. As you can see here and here, I am far from perfect.
And Jesus said that when you do good, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. If you seek the praises of men, you have your reward. I don't post these stories to brag or pretend I'm super spiritual, because I'm not. I'm just a guy that want to use the gifts God has given me (and primarily the gift of exhortation) for the purpose He has given me these gifts (primarily evangelism and encouraging Christians to share their faith).
I'm human, and I mess up. I'm no more spiritual than you are, if you're born again. I chicken out way more than I admit on this blog.
I post these encounters for 2 reasons:
1. To motivate me. If you don't see the Fishing Report very often in this space, feel free to post comments asking why. If there's no fishing report, that means that there's no fishing going on. And I've been called to be a fisher of men. And for over 2 years, I didn't share my faith with a single lost person.
2. To motivate you. Every second, 7 people die. By the time you put your head on your pillow tonight, over 150,000 people will have walked off this planet and into eternity. Then it's Heaven or it's Hell, for all eternity. Do you care? Do you care enough to get into a conversation with a lost person about Jesus?
And Jesus said that when you do good, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. If you seek the praises of men, you have your reward. I don't post these stories to brag or pretend I'm super spiritual, because I'm not. I'm just a guy that want to use the gifts God has given me (and primarily the gift of exhortation) for the purpose He has given me these gifts (primarily evangelism and encouraging Christians to share their faith).
I'm human, and I mess up. I'm no more spiritual than you are, if you're born again. I chicken out way more than I admit on this blog.
I post these encounters for 2 reasons:
1. To motivate me. If you don't see the Fishing Report very often in this space, feel free to post comments asking why. If there's no fishing report, that means that there's no fishing going on. And I've been called to be a fisher of men. And for over 2 years, I didn't share my faith with a single lost person.
2. To motivate you. Every second, 7 people die. By the time you put your head on your pillow tonight, over 150,000 people will have walked off this planet and into eternity. Then it's Heaven or it's Hell, for all eternity. Do you care? Do you care enough to get into a conversation with a lost person about Jesus?
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Fishing Report: What could be more fun than fishing for men?
Some people struggle all their lives, desperately hoping to figure out who they are and what they were born to do. I know who I am and what I was born to do.
I am amazed at how God puts things together. God has given me the privilege of sharing a ministry with a Godly man who compliments me perfectly. Today, we were so blessed in so many ways.
We've adopted a neighborhood in Lafayette, and we simply knock on doors in the neighborhood and offer to pray with people about any needs they have.
Today, though, was different. First, we returned to a house we'd been to in the past. Had a great conversation with mom, dad, and son. Turns out that the dad is my 7th grade Social Studies teacher! Leaving the conversation, though, I was kind of bummed. We spent a lot of time talking to them about flowers, school, parenting....but not the Gospel. They really weren't open to it, it seemed. But we spent a lot of time there.
Charlie and I were talking on the way to the next house. The subject of Wretched Radio came up. I told Charlie how Todd Friel goes to Georgia Tech every Wednesday - "Witness Wednesday," he calls it - and witnesses to people for 2 hours on the radio.
I told Charlie about how, when he sees a conversation going nowhere fast, he says something like, "I'm gonna tip my hand. I'm a Christian. I'm gonna take 3 minutes, and I'm gonna try to convert you. Is that ok?" Sure enough, almost everyone says, "Sure, why not?"
So we get to the next house, and its a young guy. Very polite. Wants us to pray for him because he just got a big job. We asked if he could pray for him then, but he he wasn't comfortable. He clearly wanted the conversation to end as fast as possible, even though he was polite.
So Charlie dives in head first. "Got 3 more minutes for me to try to convert you?"
Surprisingly, the guy said, "Sure, why not?"
Even more surprisingly, Charlie fell silent, like, "What have I gotten myself into?" That's pretty much what I was thinking, too.
So this dude has 14 years of Catholic school education. He knows about the commandments, and Jesus. So I said, "You know about the commandments, right?"
"Yes."
Me: "How you doin' on those?"
Him: "i'm doin' all right. I keep 'em. I try hard."
Me: "Let's see if that's true. Ever lied?"
Him: "Yeah."
Me: "What does that make you?"
Him: "um...a person who makes mistakes."
Me: "Yeah, but more specifically...rhymes with pants on fire...4 letter word...I'm guilty too."
Him: "A...liar?"
Me: "Yes. Ever stolen anything?"
Him: "No."
Me: "Never...in your whole life...even something small?"
Him: "Nope."
Me: "Good. Ever taken the Lord's name in vain?"
Him: Shaking head: "Oh yeah."
Me: "You know that God takes blaspemy seriously."
Him: "Yeah. But God knows my thoughts and that I'm a good person."
Me: "Well here's the one that got me. Jesus said, 'you've had that it was said by them of olf, you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has already comitted adultery with her in his heart. Ever looked at a woman with lust?"
Him: "Oh yeah."
Me: "So, (name withheld), by your own admission, you're a liar, not a theif, but a blasphemer, and an adulterer at heart, and you have to face God on judgment Day. Will He send you to Heaven or Hell?"
Him: "Heaven."
Me: "Why?"
Him: "Because that's not all He looks at."
Me: "Let's try that in civil court. You're guilty of murder (God considers hatred murder, so you're guilty of that too, right?" (Shakes head yes.) But you tell the judge, 'I don't murder any more. I do good. I help old ladies across the street. I obey the law. And on the way in here, I washed your car! And I saw that your tire was low, so I put some air in it for you.
Question: Is that judge going to let you go?"
Him: Silence.
Me: "If he's a good judge, he will punish you for the crimes you've comitted, DESPITE that other stuff, right?"
Him: "Is that how you see it? Is that how you think it works?"
Me: "That's EXACTLY how it works. God is just, and Holy, and perfect. And He will punish every sin. But God is also merciful and forgiving, right?"
Him: (relieved) "Yeah!"
Me: "So how can he do both - punish lawbreakers and forgive them? That's the point of the cross! Back to the courtroom: the Judge sets bail at $25,000. You don't have 2 pennies to rub together. You're going to jail for a long time. But someone you don't even know comes in, slaps a $25,000 check in front of the judge, and says, 'He is my friend. I am paying his fine.' Because of what this man has done, you're free to go. The judge didn't ignore your crimes. The punishment was paid in full. That's what Jesus declared on the cross when He said, "It is finished." If you repent (quit trying to make yourself right with God by your own effort), and trust in Jesus' death on the cross as your only basis for forgiveness before God, He'll forgive every sin you've ever comitted and give you the free gift of everlasting life. I've given you something to think about today, haven't I?"
Him: "Yeah!"
Pray for him.
Talked with another fellow who's fallen away from God. Really open to discussion. Have a feeling we're going to see him at our church tomorrow. Real nice guy.
Talked with an older, recently widowed woman who's been on our hearts. We talked to her last time and wanted to see if we could get a group of guys together from our church to help her with anything if she needed. Found out that she's plugged into a church that's helping her out. A big relief to see that God's people are taking care of her, since she's by herself.
Talked with a sweet lady who just bought a business. She goes to a local church. After talking for a while, I asked her, "OK, I'm gonna put you on the spot. Ready?"
Her: (Not too sure) "Um, OK."
Me: "I've got a knife in my back. I've got 3 minutes to live. What must I do to go to Heaven?"
Her: "Pray and um..."
Me: "Can I tell you what I would say?"
Her: (Relieved) "Sure."
Me: God is Holy, and just, and He'll punish sin wherever it's found. That means He'll punish murderers, rapists, thieves, and liars. Have you ever told a lie? Who hasn't, right? Ever stolen or used God's name in vain? Jesus said lust is adultery of the heart. We're all guilty and deserve Hell. But that's not God's will. Jesus died on the cross to take our penalty upon Himself. He said, "It is finished." The debt has been paid. If you embrace Jesus as the only basis for your forgiveness before Him, He'll forgive every sin you've ever committed and grant you the gift of everlasting life."
Talked with her for a while about resting in what Jesus was done instead of trying hard and feeling guilty for falling short. We encouraged her to read her bible and get plugged into a small group at her church, where others can encourage her to grow and rest in what Christ has done for her.
Finally, she couldn't resist asking the question that was burning her insides: "Why are y'all doing this?" We do carry around church bulletins and welcome people who may be in need of a church home. Calvary Chapel of Lafayette teaches verse by verse through the Scriptures, and I know of no church I can recommend more highly.
But we're not out there representing our church. We're not trying to take people from their church home and bring them into our church home. We're trying to share the Gospel and the love of Jesus.
We're not asking for money like many televangelists. So why we doing this? I mean, we could be with our families, enjoying the perfect spring weather...why?
Here's what I told her: "Because someone shared with me what I've talked to you about today, and because for five years as a Christian I haven't met anyone who's been willing to share that message with me. And apart from Jesus' death on the cross, each one of us is going straight to Hell forever. And if Hell is anything like Jesus says it is, I don't want you and the people of your neighborhood to go there. But that's not all. Jesus offers something else, too. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience...and on and on. When Jesus forgives you, He also comes to live inside of you. He gives you new desires, a relationship with Him, and all these things: love, joy, peace...What could be better than that? I want the people of your neighborhood to experience that, and the rest that only comes from Jesus. That's why I'm out here."
Please pray for these people. Nothing else I will do this week can top that. What could be better?
The other 2 times we went out, we never got to the Gospel one time. But we prayed with people, got to know people, and were happy with that. Today, neither one of us felt up to the task. But God working through us can do amazing things. And I have to keep reminding myself: "How will they hear without a preacher?"
I am amazed at how God puts things together. God has given me the privilege of sharing a ministry with a Godly man who compliments me perfectly. Today, we were so blessed in so many ways.
We've adopted a neighborhood in Lafayette, and we simply knock on doors in the neighborhood and offer to pray with people about any needs they have.
Today, though, was different. First, we returned to a house we'd been to in the past. Had a great conversation with mom, dad, and son. Turns out that the dad is my 7th grade Social Studies teacher! Leaving the conversation, though, I was kind of bummed. We spent a lot of time talking to them about flowers, school, parenting....but not the Gospel. They really weren't open to it, it seemed. But we spent a lot of time there.
Charlie and I were talking on the way to the next house. The subject of Wretched Radio came up. I told Charlie how Todd Friel goes to Georgia Tech every Wednesday - "Witness Wednesday," he calls it - and witnesses to people for 2 hours on the radio.
I told Charlie about how, when he sees a conversation going nowhere fast, he says something like, "I'm gonna tip my hand. I'm a Christian. I'm gonna take 3 minutes, and I'm gonna try to convert you. Is that ok?" Sure enough, almost everyone says, "Sure, why not?"
So we get to the next house, and its a young guy. Very polite. Wants us to pray for him because he just got a big job. We asked if he could pray for him then, but he he wasn't comfortable. He clearly wanted the conversation to end as fast as possible, even though he was polite.
So Charlie dives in head first. "Got 3 more minutes for me to try to convert you?"
Surprisingly, the guy said, "Sure, why not?"
Even more surprisingly, Charlie fell silent, like, "What have I gotten myself into?" That's pretty much what I was thinking, too.
So this dude has 14 years of Catholic school education. He knows about the commandments, and Jesus. So I said, "You know about the commandments, right?"
"Yes."
Me: "How you doin' on those?"
Him: "i'm doin' all right. I keep 'em. I try hard."
Me: "Let's see if that's true. Ever lied?"
Him: "Yeah."
Me: "What does that make you?"
Him: "um...a person who makes mistakes."
Me: "Yeah, but more specifically...rhymes with pants on fire...4 letter word...I'm guilty too."
Him: "A...liar?"
Me: "Yes. Ever stolen anything?"
Him: "No."
Me: "Never...in your whole life...even something small?"
Him: "Nope."
Me: "Good. Ever taken the Lord's name in vain?"
Him: Shaking head: "Oh yeah."
Me: "You know that God takes blaspemy seriously."
Him: "Yeah. But God knows my thoughts and that I'm a good person."
Me: "Well here's the one that got me. Jesus said, 'you've had that it was said by them of olf, you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has already comitted adultery with her in his heart. Ever looked at a woman with lust?"
Him: "Oh yeah."
Me: "So, (name withheld), by your own admission, you're a liar, not a theif, but a blasphemer, and an adulterer at heart, and you have to face God on judgment Day. Will He send you to Heaven or Hell?"
Him: "Heaven."
Me: "Why?"
Him: "Because that's not all He looks at."
Me: "Let's try that in civil court. You're guilty of murder (God considers hatred murder, so you're guilty of that too, right?" (Shakes head yes.) But you tell the judge, 'I don't murder any more. I do good. I help old ladies across the street. I obey the law. And on the way in here, I washed your car! And I saw that your tire was low, so I put some air in it for you.
Question: Is that judge going to let you go?"
Him: Silence.
Me: "If he's a good judge, he will punish you for the crimes you've comitted, DESPITE that other stuff, right?"
Him: "Is that how you see it? Is that how you think it works?"
Me: "That's EXACTLY how it works. God is just, and Holy, and perfect. And He will punish every sin. But God is also merciful and forgiving, right?"
Him: (relieved) "Yeah!"
Me: "So how can he do both - punish lawbreakers and forgive them? That's the point of the cross! Back to the courtroom: the Judge sets bail at $25,000. You don't have 2 pennies to rub together. You're going to jail for a long time. But someone you don't even know comes in, slaps a $25,000 check in front of the judge, and says, 'He is my friend. I am paying his fine.' Because of what this man has done, you're free to go. The judge didn't ignore your crimes. The punishment was paid in full. That's what Jesus declared on the cross when He said, "It is finished." If you repent (quit trying to make yourself right with God by your own effort), and trust in Jesus' death on the cross as your only basis for forgiveness before God, He'll forgive every sin you've ever comitted and give you the free gift of everlasting life. I've given you something to think about today, haven't I?"
Him: "Yeah!"
Pray for him.
Talked with another fellow who's fallen away from God. Really open to discussion. Have a feeling we're going to see him at our church tomorrow. Real nice guy.
Talked with an older, recently widowed woman who's been on our hearts. We talked to her last time and wanted to see if we could get a group of guys together from our church to help her with anything if she needed. Found out that she's plugged into a church that's helping her out. A big relief to see that God's people are taking care of her, since she's by herself.
Talked with a sweet lady who just bought a business. She goes to a local church. After talking for a while, I asked her, "OK, I'm gonna put you on the spot. Ready?"
Her: (Not too sure) "Um, OK."
Me: "I've got a knife in my back. I've got 3 minutes to live. What must I do to go to Heaven?"
Her: "Pray and um..."
Me: "Can I tell you what I would say?"
Her: (Relieved) "Sure."
Me: God is Holy, and just, and He'll punish sin wherever it's found. That means He'll punish murderers, rapists, thieves, and liars. Have you ever told a lie? Who hasn't, right? Ever stolen or used God's name in vain? Jesus said lust is adultery of the heart. We're all guilty and deserve Hell. But that's not God's will. Jesus died on the cross to take our penalty upon Himself. He said, "It is finished." The debt has been paid. If you embrace Jesus as the only basis for your forgiveness before Him, He'll forgive every sin you've ever committed and grant you the gift of everlasting life."
Talked with her for a while about resting in what Jesus was done instead of trying hard and feeling guilty for falling short. We encouraged her to read her bible and get plugged into a small group at her church, where others can encourage her to grow and rest in what Christ has done for her.
Finally, she couldn't resist asking the question that was burning her insides: "Why are y'all doing this?" We do carry around church bulletins and welcome people who may be in need of a church home. Calvary Chapel of Lafayette teaches verse by verse through the Scriptures, and I know of no church I can recommend more highly.
But we're not out there representing our church. We're not trying to take people from their church home and bring them into our church home. We're trying to share the Gospel and the love of Jesus.
We're not asking for money like many televangelists. So why we doing this? I mean, we could be with our families, enjoying the perfect spring weather...why?
Here's what I told her: "Because someone shared with me what I've talked to you about today, and because for five years as a Christian I haven't met anyone who's been willing to share that message with me. And apart from Jesus' death on the cross, each one of us is going straight to Hell forever. And if Hell is anything like Jesus says it is, I don't want you and the people of your neighborhood to go there. But that's not all. Jesus offers something else, too. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience...and on and on. When Jesus forgives you, He also comes to live inside of you. He gives you new desires, a relationship with Him, and all these things: love, joy, peace...What could be better than that? I want the people of your neighborhood to experience that, and the rest that only comes from Jesus. That's why I'm out here."
Please pray for these people. Nothing else I will do this week can top that. What could be better?
The other 2 times we went out, we never got to the Gospel one time. But we prayed with people, got to know people, and were happy with that. Today, neither one of us felt up to the task. But God working through us can do amazing things. And I have to keep reminding myself: "How will they hear without a preacher?"
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