Ice Cream and God's Plan

Even a trip to get ice cream with the kids can be a mission trip. Took the kids to a local ice cream shop. It was a bit late and there wasn't much of a crowd. After the woman took all of the kids' orders, I ordered last.

After she took my order, I told her I was out of Million Dollar Bills. I normally carry Million Dollar Bill gospel tracts, but I was out. I asked if she ever received a million dollar bill. "No," she said, somewhat surprised.

"It's got the million dollar question on the back, and it's a gospel tract," I explained. "Ever heard the gospel?" "No," she said. "Really?" I replied. "You've never heard the gospel?" "No," she answered. "Gospel means good news," I added. "You've never heard the good news?" "No," she repeated.

I pulled out a "God's Plan" gospel tract from my wallet, showed her the cover, which said "God's Plan for Your Life," and told her the good news relates to God's plan for our lives. "Do you know God's plan for your life?" "No," she answered. I asked if she'd like to know. "Yes," she said.

"What do you think happens after we die," I asked. "We go to heaven," she said. "Who gets to go to heaven," I asked. "People who believe in God and choose the right path," she answered. "Well, Jesus did say there's a narrow path that leads to life and few there be that find it," I said.

I then shared with her that the bible says in Hebrews 9:27 that after we die we stand before God in judgment, and God will judge us according to his moral law summarized in the 10 commandments. I asked how she would do if God judged her by the 10 commandments. She wasn't sure. So, I told her that the 9th commandment says, "you shall not lie." I then asked her if she'd ever told a lie, and she admitted she had and couldn't count the number of lies she's told. "But everyone lies," she said.

I explained that God won't judge us in comparison to others but in comparison to his perfect moral law. I shared that Revelation 21:8 says "all liars will have their part in the lake of fire." I explained that our sins separate us from God and that we all deserve to be judged guilty for our sins. I shared that God made a way for us to be judged innocent and have eternal life, though we don't deserve it.

Since customers were coming, I told her the "God's Plan" tract explained what God has done so she can know her destiny will be heaven, and it explains what to do to follow God's plan.

She asked if she could keep the God's Plan tract. I said, "of course you can!" I encouraged her to read it and take the steps that are in it so she could know her destiny will be heaven.

She thanked me for the tract. And my kids got to experience a successful witnessing encountering.

Afterward, we prayed for the woman to read the tract, repent of her sins, and place her faith and trust in Jesus' death and resurrection alone for her salvation. The rest is up to God!

Teachable @ Taziki's

Even date night can be a mission trip. Took my wife to one of our favorites--Taziki's. An employee who served us was very friendly. I'll call her Jane. Jane kept coming by to check on us and talk.

I hoped to swing the conversation to the gospel before we left but didn't see her again. I keep gospel tracts in my wallet and left a "God's Plan" tract on the table for her. As we were heading out, I saw Jane pick up the tract and look at it.

I went back and asked if she knew God's plan for her life. She said, "no," so I asked if she'd like to know. She said, "yes," so I asked what she thought happened after we die. She believed we'd go to heaven or hell. I asked who she thought would go to heaven. "Those who believe in God," she answered with a bit of hesitation, betraying a lack of confidence.

I explained that Hebrews 9:27 says after we die we stand before God in judgment, and God will judge us according to his law summarized in the 10 commandments. I asked if she'd ever told a lie, and, of course, she had. I asked if she new Revelation 21:8 says all liars will have their part in the lake of fire, and she hadn't. I told her that's how serious our violations of God's law are and that, according to God's standard, we all deserve to be judged guilty (Rom. 3:10, 23). And if we're guilty, our destiny won't be heaven. It will be hell.

Then I asked if she knew what God has done so we can be judged innocent and go to heaven, even though we don't deserve it. "Sent Jesus to die for our sins?" "That's right," I answered. I told Jane Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for all of ours sins--past, present, and even future sins. I then asked if she knew what Jesus said before he died. "What," she asked. I told Jesus said, "It is finished," meaning that the payment for our sin in order for God's justice to be satisfied was finished by Jesus' death on our behalf.

And then he rose from the dead on the third day, just has he predicted, proving he really is God and that our sins really have been paid for in full. I explained to Jane that nothing else needs to be done to save us from our sins except two things, two things Jesus said we need to do to get the benefit of his death and resurrection on our behalf.

I then asked her if she knew what those two things were, and she didn't. I asked her if she'd like to know, and she said yes. So I told her that Jesus said in Mark 1:15, “The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

I told Jane that the first thing we must do is repent. Repentance is turning from your sins to Jesus and crying out to him for forgiveness of all your sins. The second thing we must do, according to Jesus, is believe the good news. That means to trust that Jesus' death for her sins and resurrection for her justification (Rom. 4:25) is alone sufficient to secure her salvation once and for all, and that she should cling to that belief like she'd cling to a parachute to save her from a fall. Just as we'd cling to a parachute and trust it to land us safely to the ground, so we cling to Jesus by faith in our hearts and trust his death and resurrection to land us safely into heaven and the Kingdom of God for eternity.

I then asked Jane if she believed that, and she said she did. I asked if she has repented of all of her sins and placed her faith and trust in Jesus alone for her salvation, and she said she had. I told Jane, "that's great!" Then she can know for sure that her name is written in the book of life (Rev. 20:15; 21:27) and that she'll spend eternity in heaven (1 John 5:11-13).

At the beginning of this friendly gospel conversation, Jane acted hesitant about who gets to go to heaven. By the end of the conversation, she had learned how she can know for sure and confirmed that had repented and trusted in Jesus for her salvation. She also had a tract that laid out the steps we discussed so she could refer back to it if she needs to.

Before we left, we asked her if she had a church home. She didn't. So we encouraged her to check out our church. We're trusting the Lord to lead her where He wants her to be!

Her Name is Manna

Even getting a haircut can be a mission trip. Shortly before Easter, I went to get my hair cut. After the cut, the woman taking my payment was extraordinarily enthusiastic. I complemented her excellent attitude and service. It caused me to think she may be a Christian.

But I've learned you can't assume someone is born again. So I asked what her name is, hoping that being warm and friendly may help swing the conversation to the gospel. 

Her answer opened the door perfectly: "Manna," she said. "Really? That's awesome," I responded in amazement. "Do you know what your name means," I asked. "Yes," she said, "bread from heaven." "That's right," I answered. "Do you know how your name relates to Easter," I asked. She thought for a moment, but said she didn't. 

I explained that Jesus said he was the true bread who came down from heaven to give eternal life to all who partake of him and that he made a way for us to have eternal life through his death on the cross for our sins and through his resurrection, which we celebrate at Easter. I asked if she believed Jesus died for her sins and rose again to prove it's true, and she said she did. I asked Manna if she had repented of her sins and trusted in Jesus alone as her savior. She said she had. "That's great," I replied. 

I then pulled out a "God's Plan" tract from my wallet and asked her if she knew the steps in God's plan for her life. She wasn't sure, so I gave her the tract and encouraged her to check it out.

Step 1 is salvation. Unless we're born again we won't see the Kingdom of Heaven (John 3:3).

Step 2 is transformation to become more like Jesus as we follow him (Matt. 4:19; Rom. 12; 2 Pet. 3:18), learn the truth of God's Word (John 8:31-32), and obey it as best we can with God's grace and strength (Matt. 7:24-25). This step requires participating in a community of other believers who are committed to following Jesus with their lives (Heb. 10:25).

Step 3 is mobilization for spreading the gospel in order to fulfill the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:46-48). As we are transformed to be more like Jesus, we will naturally want to fulfill his mission of seeking to save all who are lost while we still have time (Luke 19:10).

Step 4 is glorification. Either we will be caught up to meet Jesus if he returns before we die and will always be with the Lord in heaven and then in his Kingdom (1 Thes. 4:16-18) or we will receive glorified, heavenly bodies and enter the Kingdom after we die (1 Cor. 15:35-58). No matter what we may face in life, we always have this sure hope that floods our soul with joy inexpressible.

This past week, I stopped by and saw Manna. We greeted each other warmly. There was clearly a special bond already. We talked about how our Easter holidays went with our families. I then asked if she had a chance to read the "God's Plan" tract. She had and said she and her husband had found a small church they started attending. "That's great," I said enthusiastically. She had other customers to serve, so we wished each other well. 

I pray God's doing a great work in Manna's life!

Millennials: Who Will Tell Them the Good News?

I haven't posted about my witnessing encounters in a while.  I started blogging to hold myself accountable to let Jesus teach me how to "fish for men" (Matt. 4:19).  Blogging allows to me meditate on each witnessing encounter and let the Lord teach me lessons.

I also blog to encourage others to share the Gospel with all of those around them who stand condemned for their sins (John 3:18, where Jesus said, "whoever does not believe stands condemned already ....").

The last six people I've witnessed to in the last couple of weeks have been Millennials--Josh, Jalesha, Wes, Dion, Cody, and John.  They reflect what I regularly encounter among Millennials.  They don't know the Gospel.  But, they hope they're going to heaven, though they aren't really sure.  They also tend to think they're good enough, and they tend to wrongly believe God forgives everyone whether the do what's necessary for forgiveness or not.

Yet, the truth is that the just wrath of God remains on them if they haven't done what Jesus said to do to be pardoned of sin and have total assurance of eternal life. (John 3:36).  That's why I tried to share with each of them--how they can have total assurance of their eternal destiny.  That's the Good News Jesus came to share!!

When Jesus began his ministry in Galilee, He began "proclaiming the good news of God. 'The time has come,' he said. 'The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!'” (Mark 1:14-15).  There's the Gospel straight from Jesus--repent and believe.  The two things you must do to be saved.

My Encounter with Josh
I met Josh outside of a theater.  I handed him a gospel tract and asked if he had heard the gospel.  He had.  I asked if he knew he was going to heaven.  He said yes.  I asked if I could question him further. He didn't mind, Upon further questioning, it became clear Josh didn't really know the gospel.  He thought he was good enough to get into heaven.  I shared the gospel by first explaining the judgment to come (Heb. 9:27).  I then explained the legal and moral standard by which God will judge who is righteous enough to enter heaven (Matt 5:17-48).  Next, by using the law, I helped him see how desperately he needed a savior.  I then explained what Jesus did to purchase our salvation, since we deserved to be judged guilty and sentenced to hell (1 Cor. 15:1-4).  I asked if he had repented of his sins and if he was trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ alone as his sole source of salvation.  He said he had repented and was trusting in Jesus.  Only God knows.  Josh really seemed to appreciate the encounter.  I encouraged him to get plugged into a good church to follow Jesus.  This is yet another example why you cannot evaluate where someone really stands just because they say they've heard the Gospel or because they believe they're going to heaven.

My Encounter with Jalesha
I met Jalesha at a drive through window.  Since no one was behind me in line, I handed her a tract and asked if she thought she was going to heaven.  "I hope so," she replied.  That's typical. We all hope we're going to heaven, but you can know with certainty.  I asked Jalesha if she knew that the bible says she can know for sure she's going to heaven, instead of just hoping.  She acted like she didn't know that. She also thought she was a good person, which is also typical when people compare themselves to others instead of God's perfect moral law that demands absolutely holiness in thought, word and deed.  When I asked her about lying, stealing, and other commands, she started to try to justify herself.  As a car pulled up, I encouraged her to read the back of the tract to know what to do in order to know with certainty her destiny will be heaven.  I pray she did.

My Encounter with Wes
I took my son to shop for a computer the other night.  Wes helped us pick out a computer and some other items.  He did a great job taking care of us, when we checked out, I offered him a gospel tract and asked if he had ever heard the Gospel.  "Bits and pieces here and there," he replied.  We encouraged him to read the tract before it's too late.

John, Cody, and Dion
John seemed to know pieces of the Gospel.  Dion thought God forgives everyone.  Cody believes in the universe and life energy.  He believes in evolution.  I walked through the entire Gospel message with them, answering questions from Dion as we went.  John seemed to echo what I was saying.  The seeds of the Gospel were sown with these young men, but Dion and Cody seemed to have hard hearts.  I pray the law broke up their fallow ground and the seeds of the Gospel found good soil.  I pray God will cause it to spring up in their lives for salvation's sake.

The big lesson from these encounters is the need for a clear, complete Gospel presentation to Millennials, since most of them don't know it or understand it.