Saturday, July 15, 2006

When things went wrong......in evangelism at FSU

I just want to share some of the experiences here in which people have gotten offended or angry from me trying to witness to them for one reason or another! Hey! It happens, but rejoice and reflect because we are representing Christ and his word says "If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you" 1 Peter 4:14. However, this is not a verse to cover yourself with if you are not speaking the truth in love or if you're being a meddler! But people will misunderstand those who preach the gospel at times. So my hope is that whoever reads this is encouraged when the not so nice witnessing experiences come by and to share your faith in general!

Earlier in the summer I was with a sister in Christ, Lauren and we were able to give a spiritual interest questionaire to an atheist(I won't put his name). This guy was kind of proud and didn't believe in God and the validity of the bible. So I reasoned with why God exists with an order, art, design, and creation argument. I don't know if he was convinced or not, but we talked alittle more about it, then I decided to address his conscience rather than his intellect. I asked him if he considered himself to be a good person and he said "Yes". So I proceeded to walk him through the God's moral Law. He failed the test just like everyone else, and said that if God existed he would let him into heaven. I reiterated that he was guilty and that he would have alot to think about if this is true. Then he quoted a bible verse to me! "Judge not lest ye be judged" he said! I told him that this wasn't my judgement but God's andI asked him what he think would happen to him if it was true. He then, got agitated and said that I was forcing my beliefs on him, but I was asking him "what if it was true?" He then said that the bible is not reliable, and asked me where Cain from the book of Genesis got his wife. This caught me off guard, although I knew the answer. It wasn't good enough for him, and he laughed at me, ehheh.... Afterwards, he had to go back to work, and I urged him to think about these things more.

During another instance, I approached some FSU students who were tabling for a study abroad program. I struck up a conversation with a girl who had a cross around her neck. This caught my eye... I eventually turned the conversation to spiritual things by asking her if she would go to heaven if she died. She had no idea, and she pointed to a guy to her right and told me to ask him that question then she left to talk on her phone. So I proceed to talk with the guy behind the table about spiritual things. He had a churched background, but was an agnostic. I talked with him about the existence of God, but he didn't really believe in a heaven or hell. Since he was churched, I asked him if he knew the Ten Commandments, and he looked at me with this "Well, DUH!" expression, lol! So I asked him to name them. I don't think he named them all, but he named most of them. I then asked him if he kept them and I think he said that he didn't keep them all, but some of them. So I asked him, "Have you ever told a lie?" ,Yes he said, then I asked "What does that make you?". His face then went flat and he answered "a liar", then I asked him, "Have you ever stolen something?" he answered "yes, but I'm not a thief". I tried to reason with him on what a thief was, but I moved on. Afterwards, I asked him, "Have you ever used God's name in vain?" he answered "yes", then I said, "that's called blasphemy". Then that set him off! He replied, "NOW YOU'RE PREACHING TO ME! I WAS NICE ENOUGH TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT SPIRITUAL THINGS AND USE MY TIME. I SEE THE TRACTS IN YOUR HAND! YOU HAVE AN AGENDA DON'T YOU? I HAVE LIED AND STOLEN AND USED GOD'S NAME IN VAIN AND EVERYTIME I DO IT I FEEL GUILTY! Then I said, "I came over here to tell you something important because if you died tonight, you be punished for your sins, and not only you, but many other people here!" I then told him about the cross of Jesus Christ!!!! "You feel guilty because God gave you a conscience." He then replied, "You must care alot about people to go about trying to save their souls. You're very kind". He then took a tract and said that he wanted to talk again sometime. This was very encouraging, but his conviction caused him to get angry which will happen when you testify against peoples works..

I have another one, but I don't feel like typing it because it is late! But may you read this and be encouraged!

Grace and Peace! Until next time!

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Witnessing encounters on FSU's campus

Today between 1 and 4 I got to go out sharing the gospel with my fellow intern and brother in Christ, David. We shared the gospel with 11 people today on campus, which has been really amazing! God has been giving us great boldness to approach groups of people and tell them of the saving power of Jesus Christ. David and I were able to approach a group of 4 people sitting at a table, and we gave them a spiritual interest questionaire. None of them were actually sure if they were going to heaven or not, but they said that they had God in their hearts. They were doubtful because of their lifestyle. One of the people left, then I began to reexplain the gospel to them and at this time, my heart began to feel heavy as I was reitering that Christ paid our full debt, and by believing we are justified by his blood. One of the people that was listening began to clap, and I started to explain that we can know 100% that we are going to have eternal life, and that we are new creatures in Christ. The person began to clap again and they thanked David and I for our time and we thanked them for theirs.
Next David and I were able to approach 4 more people who were having a conversation on a sidewalk on campus. We gave them the questionaire, and they were not sure if they were going to heaven or not, and thought that if they could get there then it would be by their good deeds. I walked them through the ten commandments and they admitted that they were guilty before God and were not going to heaven. So we then shared the gospel with them and 3 of them listened very intently, while one of them walked off to talk on his phone. When I look back I think I should have challenged them with a decision for Christ, but I gave them some gospel booklets then they headed off to class.
Afterwards, David and I approached 4 more people and gave them the survey. They then were interested in knowing how they could have eternal life. David then walked all 4 of them through the ten commandments, and it was interesting to see their reactions when they saw how they measured up against God's Law. It's interesting because it shows us what we really are in truth! David then shared with them the saving power of Christ, and all of them listened very intently as well, even though two of them said they were Christians. I then explained to them the power that the Holy Spirit has to sanctify us.The most skeptical guy of the group seemed to be affected the most, and had the most questions, but that day everyone left knowing that they had alot to think about. God really blessed that day of gospel preaching. We pray that all of those seeds that were planted and watered would bear a crop of salvation!
Grace and peace!

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Update

It's been a while since I have posted, the time is 4:20 pm and it is the 4th of July, haha. I'm here at the FSUbmerge program which is a church planting and leadership training program! I've been support raising for the program and I am now at 87% of my support! God has amazingly come through with the support. I had no idea how He would do it, but He has!
God has been teaching us alot here at FSU in the program! He has been personally testing me tremendously as a leader, and it has been very challenging! I used to pray regularly that God would grow me as a leader and He has answered them lol! There have been alot of growing pains through this but God is faithful and will come through. God has also been growing my diligence in evangelism which has been amazing. There are so many more details that I could include in this post, but I will maybe save them for a later time. Until next time!