Hi Everyone
Present today: Pastor Jarryd, Maree, June, Warren & Helen. Mary and Frances met us down at the shops.
I opened with Psalm 17:1-9, 15:
Hear a just cause, O LORD, Attend to my cry; Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips. Let my vindication come from Your presence; Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright. You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. Concerning the works of men, By the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer. Uphold my steps in Your paths, That my footsteps may not slip. I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech. Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You who save those who trust in You From those who rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings, From the wicked who oppress me, From my deadly enemies who surround me. As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.
We spoke about asking for the Lord’s protection while we share the good news. We prayed that those who we spoke to would have soft hearts, and the words of our mouths may only be the ones He has given us.
I thought that with the swimming complex (above) now opened it might bring extra people through the mall. However, there weren’t a lot of vendors. Still, we had lots of people coming and going to keep us busy.
The first guy I stopped to talk to said he didn’t need saving because he was already a Christian. A lot of people say that to me. So immediately I asked some checking questions that I would expect any professing Christian to answer correctly: When was the last time you read your Bible? His answer: A few weeks ago. When was the last time you went to church? “I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian; anyway they are all hypocrites.” I just sighed inside. These are excuses to validate a carnal lifestyle. So I gave him the good person test, which he failed miserably. When I pressed that he should be concerned with the fact he might not make it to heaven, his self-righteousness flared up, and he gave me both barrels with the lame ‘you shouldn’t judge people’ reply. Then he waled away, sayin only God knows His heart. Indeed He does, and he would answer for it one day. I prayed hard for that guy.
I spoke to a lady named Claudia by the Community Centre. She also said she was saved, so checking questions were coming her way as well. She was adamant that her good works would also save her. I quoted Eph 2:8-9, but as hard as I pleaded with her, the heavier her lead shoes became. She was not backing down. All I could do was warn her that God would say “I never knew you, worker of iniquity”. She was playing with fire, and not even caring. I prayed for Claudia too, that God would give her some sort of face slap to wake her out of her slumber!
Daniel was easier to talk to, but in the end just as hard-hearted as the previous two conversations. He understood that he was not a good person after going through the law. He understood that God had every right to deal with him severely on judgement day. But that was all he wanted to know. No amount of pleading with him regarding how bad hell was could sway him. He didn’t really care. His attitude was “no thanks!” when he walked away. God had chosen not to soften his heart via my words today. All I could do was ask God to show mercy on him before it was too late.
My last conversation was with a guy named Matt. He also said he was a Christian. He wanted to set the rules as to what a Christian is, but none of those opinions matched up with the Biblical definition. We started from scratch with his missing the mark – lying, stealing, blasphemy. Apparently that all magically disappears because Jesus overlooks it. I tried in vain to convince him that a payment for his sins had to be made, and if Christ does not do this on the cross then he would have to pay for it himself in hell. That was offensive to Matt, and it proved to me that he was indeed unregenerate. In the end I had to try and shock him by explaining how bad hell was. He listened, but I could tell there was no heart change. He had heard enough, so we shook hands. Pray for Matt!
So this outreach could be classed on the one hand as frustrating, but at the same time God was glorified because the Gospel went out. God’s plans are higher than mine, so I just have to leave them all in His hands, and give Him the glory!
Blessings
Craig
Hi Craig – I do local evangelism using Ray Comfort’s Way of the Master in my community and I have had days like the one you describe above. Our job is to present the gospel, and it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to bring about conviction and ultimate salvation. The Bible tells us that God’s word will not return void. I shared the gospel with a young man several months ago at my usual ministry location. He was raised Christian but had converted to Islam. I didn’t think I made any headway with him, but this week he came back by my ministry table to tell me that what I shared caused him to think and do more research. He told me that he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior and we rejoiced together. So, don’t think you failed because people walked away hard hearted. God can do much with your faithfulness to share the good news of the gospel.
Hi Lisa
Thanks for taking the time to comment, and your kind words.
The encounters didn’t bring me down in terms of failing in evangelism. The struggle was more knowing that since the person rejected the Gospel, the eternal fate that was waiting for them.
It was awesome to hear that the gentleman you spoke to professed faith in Christ – all glory to God!