Monday, July 16, 2007

The Spirit's push.


I wanted to post a few more encounters.

Last Thursday God had been burdening my heart to share the gospel, but I was hindered by fear and it paralyzed me. That morning I handed out a few gospel tracts, but I was battling fear. Later that day after I had gotten out of class, I was heading down the street to go and get some lunch and I saw a girl sitting on a brick wall smoking and reading a newspaper. It was impressed upon my heart to give her a tract or talk to her and as I walked , I debated with myself on whether or not to witness to her and I walked right past her and clinched my fists and said "No! Lord forgive me! I thought to myself, "maybe I will have another chance to give her a tract", but when I had gotten done buying food she was gone.... After this, my heart was still burdened to share the gospel, the Spirit was pressing me. After I ate my food I went out side to study on a bench, and about 30 minutes later, a girl comes to sit down on a bench about 30 feet away from me. I then pulled out my bible and began reading it. I felt like God was burdening me again to go and talk with this person, but I was scared and fighting it! I finally put my bible back in my pocket and went to talk with her. The Spirit had to push me. I walked up to her and said "Hi, how are you?" "I'm asking an important question, can you help me out?" She replies ,"Sure depending on what it is". I then asked, "What do you think happens when people die?" She was Jewish and believed that everyone was going to heaven, but not totally sure. We had a good conversation for about 15 minutes. She heard about the Law and Christ dying on the cross for our sins to bring us to God! I was pumped!

After I talked with her I headed to go get some dinner, and I saw two guys playing on a skateboard outside of a lecture hall. I was walking and I asked the Lord if I should talk with them. So I approached them and said "Hi, are you guys preview students?" they then replied, "We're Freshman." Then I asked them what they were doing with the skateboard and they said they were practicing to use it for transportation because campus is so big. I asked them their majors and where they were from. I then said, "hey guys, I have a question for you." "If you died tonight are you 100% sure that you would go to heaven?" Both of them replied "no". I then took them through the good person test and they admitted that they would go to hell. I then asked the guys if they knew how to have their sins forgiven. One guy said no and the other said "Jesus died on the cross." I then briefly went through the gospel with them. One guy objected about hypocrites in the church and left the church at an early age, but I exhorted him to not let that keep him away from the truth. I then shared my testimony with them urged them to seek the truth. They both took tracts and had to class.

This evening I was in my dorm lounge reading a book and spending time with the Lord, and a guy and a girl walked in to make dinner. I began talking to the guy and introduced myself. We exchanged names, majors, where we were from and where we lived. Then he got up and started cooking dinner along with his friend. I asked the Lord to bring him back so I could witness to him. About 5 minutes later he came back and sat down. I said "Hey I have a question for you. What do you think happens when people die?" He then had kind of a strange look on his face, but proceeded to answer my question. He believed that a soul lives forever and when you do bad if is repaid to you in this life. I asked how he knew that to be true and where he got his information from. He said that he didn't believe in the Bible and wasn't sure if there was a god or not. I then got stuck and didn't know where to go. So I told them what the bible says about the after life, and took him through the Law. He didn't agree with hatred being murder, and lust being adultery in the heart, and said that if this is true then everyone would be going to hell. He wasn't convicted, but was proud and unbelieving. I started sharing with him evidence from the Bible, but he did even want to consider it. I urged him to look into the truth of the Bible and reasoned with him about eternity, but he wasn't concerned at all. So, I didn't share the gospel with him, but there was a gospel tract that I left on the table. Hopefully he will read it.

God has really had to push me to go lately! But I want to get to the point where I am just taking those oportunities as they come!

"Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God," 2 Timothy 1:8

1 comment:

April said...

Sam, I was reading through your blog the other day. Thanks for your vulnerability and honesty in talking about your fear and putting off of sharing the gospel. Your heart and vitality in sharing the gospel has been an ispiration to me. I am and will pray for your travels.