Evangelistic encounters on UF's campus

I have been continually challenged by God to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the students on the campus. I have embraced the challenge through one to one sharing about three times a week, and I have a few encounters that I would like to mention from earlier today.

I left my room this afternoon at about 1:30pm to get started with evangelism. I was walking next to the Murphree dorms toward the Racquet club when I saw a guy from my floor studying a calculus book. I noticed that this was someone that the Lord had laid on my heart to speak to. As I was walking, I reasoned to myself that he was probably too busy to talk, so I walked passed him saying to myself, "I will talk to him another time", but I stopped myself and turned around. I approached him and told him that I had a question for him that I have been wanting ask. I then asked him if he was going to heaven when he died. He said that he was because he believed that Jesus Christ could save us. He then admitted that he was not in fellowship nor did he read his Bible, so I probed further about what he meant about salvation, and believing in Jesus Christ. He seemed to have a basic understanding of salvation, though the articulation of his faith could have used some improvement. I then shared my testimony with him of how I got saved my freshman year in college. I encouraged him to get involved in fellowship, accountability and to desire the pure milk of the word (1 Peter 2). He said that it was interesting that I approached him because something happened to him that really caused him to turn back to God from wandering. I encouraged him a little more and invited him out to Gator Christian Life and my small group. He was not comfortable with coming out to the small group but said that he would check out the Sunday service.

Next, I approached a girl sitting on a bench reading a book next to Pugh Hall. I walked up to her and told her that I was asking students if they would go to heaven if when they died. She replied, "I don't want to talk about this". I then replied to her, "are you a Christian?" "Yes, Catholic", she said. I then ended with, "I want to encourage you that if you are not sure where you are going, please think about this because this is one of the most important things in life". She smiled, nodded, and I was on my way to speak with another person about their soul.

I then took a walk through Turlington Plaza to see if I could spot a friend who preaches with a pvc pipe cross, but he was not there, so I walked over next to Chik-Fil-A and Einsteins Bagels. I saw two guys chatting with one another at a picnic table. I approached and told them that I was asking students if they would go to heaven when they died. They both quickly answered, "no" and I said "why is that?" They told me that they were atheists and that the they did not have sufficient evidence for the existence of God. They said that the one making the statement needed to provide the proof. So, I gave them my proof for God's existence with a simple creator/creation argument and order/orderer argument. They did not agree, but I objected with the fact that something cannot come from nothing. They admitted that science did not have the answer of where everything came from. I then found out that they both had an exposure to Christianity growing up. I asked them if they would consider themselves to be good people, they both thought so. One of them even said that he would have a chance of getting into heaven if it was real! So I walked them through God's Law, the Ten Commandments. They both admitted they were guilty, not good according to that standard and that they would go to hell if it was real! However, I did not directly proceed to the gospel because they had absolutely no concern, and did not think that it was true. They then began to question me about the validity of the Bible, and the reasonableness of the existence of the God of the Bible versus the existence of the Greek gods. We went off on a huge tangent about the books that did not make it into the Bible and the Justice of God. I indirectly shared the gospel with the two guys while explaining the difference between the old and new covenants. After about 20 minutes of conversation they had to go to class. They told me that it was one of their hobbies to talk about this subject.

I then saw a guy sitting under a tree eating and studying. I walked past him and thought myself ("I shouldn't approach him because he is studying

After I talked with them, I continued to look for another person to proclaim the gospel to. I went in front of Chik-Fil-A and saw a guy sitting a concrete wall smoking a cigarette. I got really excited and approached him. When I got close to him I saw that he was a guy that I talked to a few weeks before. He is not a Christian, but I can tell that he is in a mini-search mode. I talked with him for a little while about class and how he was doing. I then asked him his opinion about Jesus Christ. He then had to leave to get on a bus that he was waiting for. I got his email address, and I will try to talk to him further about these things.

Satan's Water Hose!

I wanted to post this thought that I have had for a while and it is something that I have experienced myself, and to be honest it causes discouragement from time to time! It is something that I believe that the devil uses to quench the zeal of the Christian who wants to work for his master. We know that Satan is the Father of lies (John 8:44), and he uses lies against Christians to make them ineffective in their service and weak in their walks with God. I have noticed, especially since I have started witnessing regularly for Christ that Satan likes to throw out lies to me which hinder me from what I am doing and cause me to second guess what the Lord has commanded and put on my heart. This just recently happened on Friday afternoon when I was out witnessing with another brother in Christ, and him and I approached a couple of guys sitting on a brick wall. One of the guys got up and went to talk to someone so we began conversation with one of the guys about his spiritual beliefs. After about two minutes the other guy came back and we asked him about his belief in the after life. The other guy had no religious convictions, and this guy said that he did not like to think about the afterlife. So we began to take them both through the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) to show them their need for a Savior.

After we had took them through the Law the guy who did not like to think about the afterlife quickly responded with the fact that Christ died for our sins, so that we are all forgiven. We replied that we must receive Christ through faith and we are not all automatically forgiven. He then said that he was saved through Christ, but he was living for himself at the moment. We then challenged him to take up his cross and follow Christ with his life (Luke 9:23-24), and he replied that this is not relevant to us today, and that he was comfortable with his own faith. He then looked at the brother that I was with and said to him, "Are you trying to make me feel bad? You are taking your own interpretations of the Bible and shoving them on me". On the inside I kind of felt a since of rejection, and then the following thought came, "Maybe I am just pushing people away with my zeal, maybe this is a bad approach, maybe I won't be effective with this, maybe I should back off from this". At this point I felt like my enthusiasm and excitement were lessening, but soon after I thought about it and saw that of course this guy isn't going to agree with what we are saying because what we are saying condemns the state that he was in. Of course he will accuse us of this because his own heart was not right! However, Satan wanted to use that encounter to discourage us and make us think that it was our fault that he did not receive the Word of God. We were just doing what God had sent us out to do. We had a holy fire to do the will of God, but Satan pulled out his water hose to put out that fire so that we would be discouraged for the rest of the day. I am happy to inform you that afterwards I kept pressing on and had a some good conversations.

My encouragement to you is not to let Satan discourage you from service in ministry, no matter what that may be. But especially in reaching out to the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ. He will try to use subtle ways to discourage you if the blunt threat of fear does not work. Keep hold to the promises and commands of God. If you find that what you're thinking or feeling is in contradiction to what God has promised or commanded then there is a problem. Do not let the devil use negative thinking to discourage you from ministry and a healthy relationship with Jesus Christ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Watch the thoughts!

Now the following is a story of the evangelist D.L. Moody in one of his evangelism encounters where he was met with a threat and discouragement because of his approach. Read and be encouraged!

Taken from "Why God Used D.L. Moody" by R. A. Torrey.

"One night Mr. Moody was going home from his place of business. It was very late, and it suddenly occurred to him that he had not spoken to one single person that day about accepting Christ. He said to himself: "Here's a day lost. I have not spoken to anyone today and I shall not see anybody at this late hour." But as he walked up the street he saw a man standing under a lamppost. The man was a perfect stranger to him, though it turned out afterwards the man knew who Mr. Moody was. He stepped up to this stranger and said: "Are you a Christian?" The man replied: "That is none of your business, whether I am a Christian or not. If you were not a sort of a preacher I would knock you into the gutter for your impertinence." Mr. Moody said a few earnest words and passed on.

The next day that man called upon one of Mr. Moody's prominent business friends and said to him: "That man Moody of yours over on the North Side is doing more harm than he is good. He has got zeal without knowledge. He stepped up to me last night, a perfect stranger, and insulted me. He asked me if I were a Christian, and I told him it was none of his business and if he were not a sort of a preacher I would knock him into the gutter for his impertinence. He is doing more harm than he is good. He has got zeal without knowledge." Mr. Moody's friend sent for him and said: "Moody, you are doing more harm than you are good; you've got zeal without knowledge: you insulted a friend of mine on the street last night. You went up to him, a perfect stranger, and asked him if he were a Christian, and he tells me if you had not been a sort of a preacher he would have knocked you into the gutter for your impertinence. You are doing more harm than you are good; you have got zeal without knowledge."

Mr. Moody went out of that man's office somewhat crestfallen. He wondered if he were not doing more harm than he was good, if he really had zeal without knowledge. (Let me say, in passing, it is far better to have zeal without knowledge than it is to have knowledge without zeal. Some men and women are as full of knowledge as an egg is of meat; they are so deeply versed in Bible truth that they can sit in criticism on the preachers and give the preachers pointers, but they have so little zeal that they do not lead one soul to Christ in a whole year.)

Weeks passed by. One night Mr. Moody was in bed when he heard a tremendous pounding at his front door. He jumped out of bed and rushed to the door. He thought the house was on fire. He thought the man would break down the door. He opened the door and there stood this man. He said: "Mr. Moody, I have not had a good night's sleep since that night you spoke to me under the lamppost, and I have come around at this unearthly hour of the night for you to tell me what I have to do to be saved." Mr. Moody took him in and told him what to do to be saved. Then he accepted Christ, and when the Civil War broke out, he went to the front and laid down his life fighting for his country."

Dinosaurs, Pride, and Rebellion

It has been a while since I have blogged here. A few months actually, but I wanted to just post an evangelistic adventure that I had at the Tallahassee Mall in July. I do not do much evangelism in the mall, but the times that I have done it have been enjoyable. It makes me nervous when I think about but It is a great place to proclaim the gospel of Jesus as long as the authorities do not try to throw you out ;).

Back in July I went to the Tallahassee Mall with a Pastor do spread information about church services and to do some evangelism. We prayed in the car and then proceeded to head into the mall. As soon as we got to the entrance we approached a young woman smoking a cigarette and invited her to church. I wanted to ask her if she would go to heaven if she died that night, but I did not muster the courage to do so. She was friendly however, said that she was looking for a church. After we talked with her a bit we walked into the mall and saw four teenage boys talking amongst themselves. My Pastor began a conversation with them, and almost immediately one of the boys said that he was an agnostic one of the others said that he only goes to church during the holidays. My Pastor started to explain to him about the main theme of the Bible. the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and why we believe that it is true. The Agnostic then brought up dinosaurs and questioned whether or not they are written in the Bible, but it seemed to us almost like a smoke screen. Then he said that he did not want to be controlled by anything. He wanted to be in control of his own life and did not want the Bible of God dictating the way that he lives his life. That seemed like the root of his unbelief. We reasoned with him some more and told him to consider the things that were spoken to him.

We then continued to walk through mall and approached a jeweler. He said that he already went to a church, so I asked him if he would go to heaven if he died, to which he quickly responded, "I can't talk about that on my job". We courteously said goodbye and told him to have a good day. He seemed like a nice man. Next we saw a man dressed in bicycler's clothing sitting on a bench. I extended to him an invitation to the church service and he refused it saying that he did not have any pockets. Then I asked him if he would go to heaven if he died and he looked at me with a prideful stare and he burst out with laughter. He said that the Bible was a myth and I spent the next 45 minutes trying to reason with him and the gospel was declared to him as well. He was full of pride and said that he used to believe what we believed until he got educated. I continued to patiently reason with him with a smile on my face and with gentleness, but he kept insisting that what we believe is foolishness! I eventually proclaimed the gospel to him and our conversation ended.

So why did I call this post, Dinosaurs, Pride, and Rebellion? Because that is what we came across at the mall. However, my time there reinforced the fact that we can witness anywhere and most of the time people are willing to talk to us about spiritual things. We must make ourselves available and step off in faith and initiate. God is faithful, He will be with us, and He will empower us (Acts 1:8)! Trust Him and go!

It's eating me!

I just woke up this morning and the pervading thought of my heart was this.......... speaking to the souls of people about Jesus Christ! It is eating at me day after day and it is distracting me (Is this really a distraction? This seems like almost an insult!). It is burdening me more than any ministry than I am involved in at the moment yet I cannot seem to continuously follow through it. Oh sure, I go out twice a week for evangelistic outreach and have experienced mild results, but there is more and I feel as though the Lord is wanting to push me further! My motivation is not merely results, but it is all-out obedience to the heavenly burden given by Christ! How do I know that this is from heaven?! Am I 100% sure? I walk by faith and the most convincing evidence are my journal entries of the past three years! I talk about evangelism and gospel preaching frequently. Through seeking the Lord and reading His word this is still something that permeates me! I am scared to death though, and I can come up with many excuses as to why I should not reach the world around me with the gospel. I do not like to say this but I believe it to be the truth: I am an evangelist at heart. If you know me and are reading this then this probably comes to no surprise to you, but I blush when I admit this for some reason...

Because of these things, I live in almost constant discomfort everyday. I am disobedient to the burden which I believe is from the Lord, but I have found a way to suppress it with other thoughts about school, life, and personal comforts. This has kept me from being driven crazy. This sounds bad and it is but I value my humanity, earthliness, reputation, and comfort. What a wretched man I am! I cannot escape from it even with all of the power that I can muster! I am tied to the wharf of self will as I strenuously paddle my small boat. I paddle and paddle and paddle tiring myself out only to see that I have not gone anywhere because I am tied to the wharf! Oh Lord help me cut it, the seas may be dangerous but the wharf of inactivity is not where you want me to be! There is a dying world out there going to hell and all I can say is I'm scared and uncomfortable! I cannot love the lost properly or say that I do without their eternal destiny at the forefront of my mind. If I am too afraid to speak about the Savior Jesus Christ then I will not speak too much at all. I will withdraw myself and push down the urge, showing no love whatsoever! I must speak, I must speak, I must speak!

Jeremiah 20:8-9- 8:

For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I shout, "Violence and destruction!"
For the word of the LORD has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.
If I say, "I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,"
there is in my heart as it were a burning fire
shut up in my bones,
and I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.

Until next time, God bless you!

Four Keys to growing in maturity as a disciple

Hey, here are four keys for becoming a stronger disciple of Jesus Christ. This is from Jaeson Ma's blog, http://jaesonma.com/index.html . Jaeson Ma is an on fire believer for the Lord and I thought that I would keep what he posted for my own records. Here are the four simple keys:

Dear Bros and Sis,

I pray each of you will grow into strong and mature disciples of Jesus Christ by keeping these 4 key Biblical principles below active in your life. This is what the early Christians committed to in the New Testament and the Church grew in power and their lives changed the world. We must also commit to the below. I have done the four following things in my life since I was born again 10 years ago, and by practicing these four keys I have become a stronger and stronger disciple of Jesus Christ.

Click to go to the Wheel Illustration

"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." Acts 2:42

1. Pray Continually

Talk to God and let God talk to you. Everyday, every moment, pray continually. Find a specific time daily to be quite and pray with the Holy Spirit. Then talk to the Holy Spirit and listen to His voice throughout the day.

2. Love & Live the Word of God

Be committed to studying God's word like your life depended on it. Without it, we cannot know God's will. All success goes back to how obedient we are to knowing and doing God's will found in His Scriptures. Love the Word and Do it!

3. Share Christ w/ Someone Daily

Everyday, ask God to give you the opportunity to share the Gospel with someone. Look for open doors to share the Gospel with everyone you meet.

4. Fellowship with other Believers

You must be committed to a local church. People are like elevators they either take you up or take you down. You must be consistently in fellowship with other disciples of Christ in order to be held accountable, to be encouraged and to grow in your walk.

If you practice these 4 keys daily and continually in your life, I guarantee you that you will grow into a strong disciple of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, we must all be surrendered to His Lordship and follow Him at whatever the cost. Amen.

A prayer a friend sent me recently, let it challenge and inspire you to pursue Christ with your all.

The Wesleyan Covenant Prayer
I am no longer my own, but yours.
Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you,
exalted for you or brought low for you.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
You are mine, and I am yours.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

Constant Desire

These are more random thoughts that I have about my walk and service to God.

Everyday that I wake up in the morning I think of evangelism and bringing the word of God to the lost. I do not talk about it as much as I used to because most who know know that to be the case. It's a constant burden and desire for me to do this. Knowing myself though, I am an introvert and not an extremely relational person. However, I have the desire to tell everyone about what Jesus Christ has done for all of us on the cross. I always want to do this, and even when I don't want to do this it is still on my mind. I wonder if this is from God? :) I know that it is, but I do not act on it as I should! In a sense, I live in a lot of disobedience to God, yet He is gracious to me and encourages me to press forward. There are people in my classes that I wish to speak to, people in Turlington Plaza, the Reitz Union, Einstein's and everywhere, but alas, they will think that I am mad if I speak to them about their souls on such a random occasion... ahh!! "Who cares?" says the Spirit! "I do!" says the flesh! They will reject me or think that I am weird and I will have to live with awkwardness for the rest of the semester! Ugh I must die to self because such an attitude is a hindrance to what God wants to do in the world! It is selfish, self-seeking, self preserving and self loving! It must go because I am not my own.... I have been bought with a price, I must continue to preach and hand out tracts and witness to unsuspecting, idle people because of God's love for them. This is the desire that is on my heart, and I must follow it because it is a gift from God, and it is how He has wired me as a believer!

This is My Desire which is really God's Desire!

The Young Minister's Pit

I haven't written in two months, though I have had the desire to type my thoughts. So now I have taken the opportunity to write something that I have been thinking about from time to time, and what I believe I heard from a Paul Washer teaching last year. It's called the Young Minister's Pit. It's the term that I have just coined, but its quite common for young preachers and ministers I believe and I have even seen it in my own life to a certain extent.

Some of us young men can get excited in our preaching or ministering and look critically at how we have spoken or delivered our message. Here are some of the following thoughts, "Did the crowd like it? , Were people moved?, How did I feel about it?, How many people were saved?" etc. These are interesting thoughts I must admit and can be encouraging or discouraging.... but be careful young minister.... that this does not become your motivation for service or your effectiveness or worth. Do not base your spiritual walk or your worth on the results of your ministry or you will have one huge roller coaster ride as you walk with the Lord. One week you'll be clicking your heels, and the next week you'll be dragging them.
Be careful young minister that you do not rest in your accomplishments nor boast in them! Do not stop to build an altar to your success in ministry, but rest in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ! It's all about Him and it is His power and leading that makes a young minister effective. Don't boast in your self, but boast in the Lord. Your walk, ministry, and success is the Lord's and even if you seem to have failed, you are still to keep your trust in the Lord. Failure can be used by God to put into desperation for Him so that we can really rely on Him.

Careful young minister that you do not boast in your success or focus on your failures by living introspectively, but rest in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Breaking down and no answer

I have not blogged in over month, but I wanted to just talk about an adventure and what has been going on inside at the moment.

Lately, I've been battling apathy with sharing my faith, still getting out, but knowing that the Holy Spirit is nudging me to speak out. Do you know the feeling? A lack of fulfillment, a feeling of needing to do something, or an uncomfortable feeling in the heart! It's kind of hard to describe, but I believe that God's Spirit has been nudging ever since I have come back to school to continue to spread His wonderful gospel! I know that there will be opposition rejection, rudeness and possibly persecution, but disobeying God and omitting what He has said is far worse that any of the former things that I have just named!
So what slows me down?
I believe it is the fear of man, and the fear of how others will respond. I have been thinking about it how to combat these things, and I think I have found out! We must deny ourselves, we must lose ourselves in Christ and carry our crosses! Oh how painful it is though! It hurts!!! My flesh cries out and says "What are you doing?!! "Stop that!", all the while the Spirit spurs me on reminding me that the old Samuel has been nailed to the cross, and reminding me of His precious promises which far outweigh what this world has to offer. I must continue the fight even when it hurts or is not convenient. But here is what I see: To disobey God, pain, to carry the cross, pain, but with it comes a great joy and refinement and life in our walks with the Lord Jesus Christ! We can identify in His sufferings.
I've resisted, and been reminded over and over only to obey when I am about to get the shakes or cry! I get convicted and break down my cage of omission and fear in order to run into battle with the Lord where there again is discomfort.............. but it's different, it's soothing, it brings a smile, it brings me running to the Lord, like a two year old running to mommy and daddy after hurting himself. And I remember that I'm just getting a taste of what other believers have been going through for almost two thousand years.

Today I went out to get some food and I saw a guy sitting on a bench with his cell phone. I walked up to him and asked him if I could ask him a question. He declined and said that he was having a financial crisis. As I was walking away I thought to myself "Doh!!! I should have asked If I could pray for him!" So I went inside of Chipotle (Mexican restaurant) seeing the opportunity to talk with someone who was in line (It was a long line). I walked inside, stood in line and about 5 minutes later I struck up a conversation with a young man about my age. I made some small talk with him, asked him his name, and then I told him that I had a question for him. "If you died tonight are you 100% assured that you would go to heaven?" (Sometimes I freak out about asking this question, but this time I was calm believing that I was doing what God had asked me). His face developed a suspicious looking smirk and he asked me, "Are you just trying to get me to go to your church?" I replied with a smile, "No, I'm interested in what people believe about the afterlife" Then he said, "Well if I knew you better I would talk to you, but I don't know you so I'm not comfortable with to you about it." I then asked him if he went to a church, then he said yes. I left the spiritual topic alone after the rejection, but something struck me on the inside. If he is a Christian Jesus should roll right off of his lips, there should be some interest in that area. But he is either a Christian with no such conviction, or he wasn't a Christian, and I say that the former would show a discouraging state of the church. But God however gave me joy nonetheless and I headed back to my room praying for both young men and my roommate whom I am going to speak with about Christ."

Witnessing and Open-air adventure

I just wanted to share another witnessing and open air preaching adventure that we had today on campus. A friend and I decided to go and preach the gospel in a place called Turlington plaza (We do this on Thursdays). My friend arrived to the area at 10:15am and I arrived at 10:30am. When I showed up my friend was already preaching the gospel. I saw a guy sitting down who I had wanted to witness to for a while. So I approached him asked him if he was religious and what he thought happens when people dies. He thought that there might be a heaven and a hell and he had gone to church before. I told that the standard that God has is the Ten Commandments, then I walked him through them. He was guilty, and he said that it was a hard standard to keep. He said that he would be going to hell and it kind of concerned him. I then gave him the gospel, and he was sincerely thinking about everything and asking questions about the bible. Another friend of his came over and started talking about evolution and the bible being true, but I went back to the Scriptures and talked about how the creation account contradicts evolution. They were both listening intently and asking questions. It was a good conversation. Afterwards, I encouraged the guy to think about salvation.

Then I was up to preach, and I was planning on preaching about John 6 where Jesus says that he is the bread of life. As soon as I opened my mouth a guy came up to my friend who had just got done preaching, and he was holding a sign that said " I'm with stupid." I began to interact with him, and asked him why he was hold that sign. He said he was holding it because he didn't like that he was being told that he needed to live by a book. I then asked him if he was a Christian, and he said "no" , and I asked him why. He said that there was no proof. By this point a fairly large crowd came to listen to the debate. I then took him through God's law and and preached it to the crowd as well . He kept cutting me off and we ended up debating creation, evolution, the existence of God, Christ's deity, and the validity of the bible. As we were going, his girlfriend was yelling objections, and someone behind me was urging me to prove God's existence. One of my friends also came next to me, and told the guy out loud that he would die for Jesus Christ (Wow!)! I was able to bring the debate back to the gospel twice so that it could be given to the crowd. After about 15 minutes, he left, and I articulated the gospel as quickly as I could before he left then the crowd dispersed as well. A bit later, my friend came back up to preach again, and a 16 yr old young man shared his testimony open air after him, and man, he was on fire! Afterwards, I preached another salvation message about the bread of life, and we wrapped it up. We praise God for what happened today and for having his gospel contended for and proclaimed! Our semester ends tomorrow.

Open-air preaching at UF

During this six week semester, the Lord has led me to open air preach in a place where alot of students walk, hangout and table for organizations. I usually go out there with my bible, and just begin to preach! I'll meditate on a verse, and pray asking God to speak, and preach on open air on the text. This semester has been challenging yet a blessing as well. Christians have been encouraged and fired up from the preaching and it has also opened up doors for myself and others to share the gospel with unbelievers that stop.

Last Thursday, I went out to preach the gospel on campus with another brother and I used Luke 24:7 which says "The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.". I used this verse as a spring board and preached on the resurrection of Christ as fact. A few came to listen, as people were walking by during the class change. I then switched the subject and began to preach on the existence of God and alittle about evolution, then a couple of guys came to debate me about evolution. One of the guys threw out what he claimed as evidence that I had never heard before, and I have to admit I was stumped about what he was saying ( I didn't get out of the intellect, to swing to the conscience... ). Not long after our debate another Christian came to debate the topic and it turned into a discussion. After that the preaching and debate was over, I went over to talk with a brother that I had preached with that day and a someone walked up to him and asked him a very interesting question. She asked "Does the thought of there not being an afterlife ever worry you?", and he replied that he never thought of that so it didn't. She then began to walk away, so I said "excuse me, what do you think happens after people die?" We had a 20 minute conversation and I was able to share the law and gospel with her and what the Bible says about the afterlife. As I shared how Christ had transformed me I could see it in her eyes that she was soaking it in. She told me earlier that she did not believe in an afterlife and that she was not born again, but that she had a churched background. I encouraged her to think about what we had talked about, then I headed back to my dorm.

Gospel to the proud.

Just yesterday, God gave me the opportunity to witness to someone who was in my group for a project. I asked God to give me an opportunity to witness to this person, and it came up in an interesting way ( I didn't bring it up, but as God would have it, it came up.) My group member and myself were talking and I ran into a friend who is an unbeliever. Him and I talked for a bit, then he told me to have a good Fall (I am traveling with a campus preacher this Fall). This sparked conversation between my group member and I about the things of God after about 5 minutes and she told me her own world view. We went to the library and sat down because we were supposed to be working on a project, but I began to witness to her. I took her through the Law, and talked to her about righteousness and the need to be born again, because if she died then she would go to hell as punishment for her sins. After I took her through the law of God, she wasn't argumentative, but not exactly humble either.... As I was sharing the gospel with her she chuckled and said to me "you probably think that I am a jerk right now for laughing". She was displaying a type of "whatever" attitude towards the pearl of the gospel. I also shared with her my testimony and how Christ had transformed me into a new creature, but she tried to rationalize it in her mind with psychology. I wondered at that point if I should have not given her the gospel (I might not have if I had a tract on me). I'm going to try to preach the Law unsparingly to those who aren't humble, I almost felt like I was casting pearls to swine. Overall, I know that God was at work and completely set up that situation for me to witness to her. Praise to His Name!

I'll post some more encounters. This one stuck out to me.

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

Satan's workin' overtime!

A few days ago, the Lord was tugging on my heart to share the good news of Jesus Christ, but I kept stalling and distracting myself with everyday things. That night (1/23/07) after I had dinner with my lifegroup, I told myself "Ahh whatever!! I'm going to share the gospel with the first person that I see on my way back to my dorm! So as I was walking back to my dorm from Broward dining, I saw six girls standing on the sidewalk chatting. I then walked up to them and said "Hi, are you all busy?" they replied "No we are just waiting for the snap van." Then I said "Can I ask you all a question?". They then replied "sure", so I asked "If you all died tonight, are you 100% assured that you would go to heaven?" One by one the girls said "no" "no" "no".... then I inquired why, and a few of them answered that they were going to purgatory. I then inquired further, "why is that?", and they responded, "Because we are not perfect." After the girls said this the snap van came, I handed one of them a gospel tract and they all left! That was it! I then asked the Lord to reach their hearts with the gospel ! It was an unfortunate answer I received from them because the Bible doesn't even hint at a purgatory! It doesn't exist! The blood of Christ has either fully cleansed us or it hasn't!

I thought that was an interesting account to note however, the night doesn't stop there! I then made my way back to my dorm, and I decided to go to the kitchen. I saw a guy from my floor watching T.V. so I struck up a conversation with him, then after about five minutes I said "I've been wanting to ask you an interesting question." He replied "ok", and I said "What do you think happens after someone dies?". He replied he had no idea. So I took sometime to talk about God, and creation, and the proof of the Bible. Then I began to walk him through the Ten Commandments, and he admitted that he would be guilty. Then someone else walked into the kitchen on the conversation and started talking about Jesus the Son of God! Then the guy I was talking with walked over to the stove to attend to his food. I asked the new person if she was born again, and we talked for a bit. I then finished the conversation with the guy from my floor and told him about the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross for our sins.

Afterwards, I began to walk upstairs with another guy who lived on my floor and in the hallway I asked him what he thinks happens after death. He told me that he thought heaven and we talked about how to get there, and I shared my testimony with him. He then told my that he was a Christian who was not in fellowship and that he had been kind of discouraged from going and talking about Jesus Christ because of his friends. So I tried to encourage him a bit.

There is one big thing that I noticed from witnessing that evening, mainly from the two latter conversations. I noticed that Satan is always working, he never stops. He is working to keep Christians silent and timid in witness, and he is working to keep unbelievers in the dark away from the truth. He will do what is in his power to stop us from spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, with fear, lies, temptation and etc. He doesn't want believers to be bold in the gospel, but to remain bottled up! I must confess, that these past few days I've been feeling "bottled up" myself and reluctant to share the truth with others. But my exhortation is this: Don't let Satan out work you as a a believer, he is constantly working and this is what we should be doing as well. There are many people on our college campuses who are blind from the truth of the gospel and have no clue that there is judgment coming (Hebrews 9:27) for sin and that they can pass through it by Jesus Christ. As believers, lets commit to working for the glory of God for the souls of men, by telling them the truth!

David and Goliath

Most of us have heard the account of David and Goliath growing up at some point in our lives! This morning I was reading for class and I came across the account of David killing Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. All of the Israelite men were afraid of the nine foot giant, Goliath who for forty days would come to ranks of the Israelites and challenge them to send a man for a duel! I then read that David came to the troops to bring some supplies from his father and began to question who giant Philistine was by saying "....who is this uncirumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" 1 Samuel 17:26. David then assured King Saul that the Lord would deliver him from the giant Philistine just as he had delivered him from the bears and lions.

David then approached the line to meet the Philistine with a staff and a slingshot. David said to Goliath "This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may now that there is a God in Israel" 1 Samuel 17:46. This is interesting because David could have easily thought with a rational mind and said to himself "There is no way that I could take him with my own strength... I'm young and I'm much smaller that he!" But what was David's secret? David didn't look at himself in relation to the task that he had!!!!! He looked at the strength and glory of God and was out for the glory of God and was tenacious in seeking that glory for God!! He saw that this giant Philistine was reigning curses on Israel, blaspheming and defaming the glory of God and his people! So David looked 100% to God when he hopped into this battle with Goliath and slain him with a stone!! David wasn't out for himself or for fame, but out for God's glory so that His name would be made known to others!

Neat account huh? But what does this have to do with our lives today?
We as Christians have a monunmental task set before us today called the Great Commission given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ! We have been appointed by God to bring the gospel of Jesus to this lost world, and what a great and difficult task it seems like to us. We have all sorts of opposition that we cannot seem to get past, like thoughts of discouragement, unbelief, slander, personal reputation, fear, and the list goes on! But just as David faced a seemingly impossible opponent and eagerly met him at the frontlines with his eyes focused on God, we are to do the same with the Great Commission! We are to meet this great task of reconciling souls to God head on with our eyes totally on the Lord! We are to focus on spreading his glory and fame throughout this world, and not on ourselves or what it will make us look like, feel like, or even what might happen to us! I fear that many of us have turned our gaze inward or on the wrong thing as we have tried to spread the gospel of God's grace! Maybe we have been too introspective or maybe we have worried too much about what others may think of us!

Take David's example and keep your eyes Fixed on Jesus Christ, and remember that you're out battling for the glory of the Lord... not your own or even the glory of those that we try to reach! If God was with David when he stepped up to Goliath for His glory, will he not be with you, His own child, when you step up to the task of the Great Commission for the glory of Jesus Christ?

The woman at the rock.

I have had only one class today and I've been somewhat studying for an exam, but I felt like it was a good idea to go out and hand out some tracts before I ate lunch... so I did! I handed out some tracts as I made my way to the Turlington rock and sat down there. I then struck up a conversation with a young woman sitting next to me, and we talked briefly about everyday things.
I then asked her "When you die, what do you think is on the other side?" She said she decided not to think about it much anymore, but after I did alittle more probing she said that maybe heaven and hell. Then I asked her "How do you get to heaven?" and she replied, "by being a good person". She then told me that she goes to the Catholic church across the street from my dorm. So I asked her a few more questions, and then proceeded to walk her through the Ten Commandements and she admitted to being a liar, a blasphemer, a coveter and she failed to obey her parents at some points. After reasoning with her for a bit about sin and death, God allowed me to transition to the good news about Jesus Christ and about how he was crushed under God's wrath for our sins.
She then told me that she believed that and was trying to live for Christ. At that point I was a bit confused because her answers to my questions early led me to believe that she wasn't a believer, so I talked about the new birth in Christ alittle bit. She then left for class and thanked me for talking with her.
I then just thought "hmmm I wonder if she was being honest or not?" And you know.. I've wondered that on many different gospel encounters, but a person will know in their heart whether or not they are right with God. God won't let His word return void, but it will always accomplish what he wills it to, but we as believers must continue to faithfully plant the seeds of the gospel no matter what because we all know what happens after death....but sadly many do not!
Until Next time.

The Great Challenge..

Here is a monthly post of something that has been on my mind and my heart!!! It's late, I have some work to finish, so I'll make this quick!

I have a great desire to see the souls of men and women on this campus saved, it is a frequent prayer and a task in which I frequently take part in! But I've been greatly challenged in my consistency of the great task of preaching the gospel to every creature as Jesus commanded! I find that I struggle with apathy, fear of rejection and of the unknown every time, everyday and it almost never goes away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know what God desires and I know that he will not withhold the strength needed for the gospel to go forth on this campus, but I find it so tough to consistently remain steadfast in prayer for God's churches and the as I should, but I continually feel God nudging my heart to continue on in the work of chasing the souls of men!!

Everyday that I wake up I feel the nudge on my heart saying "Are you going to cast your nets today?" It never ever leaves me!!!! NEVER! And by gollie I won't ignore the call that God has given to seek him and fish for men with the message of the gospel! Yes it's hard, yes it's scary, yes it's uncertain, yes there's rejection, but what a mistake it is to ignore the calls of the living God. For Jesus has said "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" Mark 16:15. I cannot neglect it, will not!

I'm reminded of a missionary named David Brainerd who gave himself wholly to be used by God to reach the Native Americans in the 18th century and went through such tremendous hardship and pain that he died at the age of 29. He frequently prayed and wept for their salvation and preached with a tongue of fire because he had obeyed the commission of God and took it seriously with all of his heart! He even viewed suffering as a friend! As a result of the work that God did through him, many Native Americans came to Christ! This is an example that I'm challenged to follow as well as the Apostle Paul's and when he says "For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:" Romans 9:3.

I'm challenged to give myself over to God and his work as these men have done! There is a campus of 50,000 people, most of whom do not know the Lord Jesus. I'm living in a dorm and I suspect that most here do not know Christ either! I've sat idley, and prayerlessly long enough. I must do what God is nudging my heart to do... I must preach the gospel to them! I've been lazy and scared, but I must trust in the Lord! Everytime I hear their voices in the hallway and make small talk with them when I see them passing through I cringe inside and ask, "what if I brought up Christ? How would they respond?" And I think the worst and say nothing because I want no offense! Haha but alas! The message is offensive!!!!!!!!!!

But this is what is going on inside my mind and my heart at the moment for the cause of Christ. This isn't really for entertainment or for people to read and be entertained.... who reads blogs anyway? *wink* May God give us all the strength and wake us up from Spiritual apathy and lack of concern for the lost and dying world!!! Amen!!!

Giving into the War

It is 7:55pm and I'm taking a break from working on a hg teaching for tomorrow evening. I was just doing some reflecting about my life and passion for God. I look around and I see people who are in need of the Lord! I see a great harvest that God wants us to thresh as believers. I look around and I realize that there is great work to be done here at the University of Florida, and the Lord is constantly giving me a desire to tell everyone about Him! God wants sold out men and women to use to reach this campus with the gospel, and it's in all out war. I'm writing this blog because in my mind and my heart... I want to commit to this war that is waging between the forces of spiritual light and darkness!
There are souls in the balance, there are dead men and women who are in desperate need of the Lord Jesus Christ. This morning I rededicated myself to fighting against the dark spiritual forces that rage in this world for the glory of Jesus! It is a scary thing, but fear is the enemy's greatest weapon in incapacitating the Body of Christ and it's tough to admit, but this tactic has been very effective! But I'm throwing myself into the arms of Christ! The hands of Jesus! I'm surrendering myself totally to the will of the Lord because there is a great work that needs to be done!!!!!!!!! Reader, will you do the same? Will you hop into the arms of Christ so that he can use in this War of reconcilation?
I want to tell every person that I come across about the saving power of Jesus Christ! The people in my dorm, on the bus, in turlington plaza everywhere! I want to preach my heart out for God, ahahah. I thought of this verse "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." Luke 4:43. This is the mission given by God for us to do and this is the cause that I will give my life to.
Until next time.....

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!

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!

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!