I try to meditate on this verse a lot before going out to share the gospel because I know it's really Jesus commanding us to go out and share, and He will bring up the people who He wants to talk with us. I am very blessed to go out with my husband and last time we went was definitely no exception. It was a truly blessed night...
The CT shooting occurred yesterday, and my anxiety level was at a 9. It got worse when I went to the mall and there were such huge crowds and we are in such a public place with a message that people don't want to hear. When we started with John, my anxiety calmed down a bit just knowing that God is in charge and if something bad happens, God already pre-ordained it to happen so nothing happens outside His will.
It turned out to be one of the best nights in a long time! One of the first people I spoke with was Teddy. He was a true gentlemen and I took him through the good person test. It's amazing how 99% of people we ask say they are a good person and will definitely make it to heaven. How scary it will be when they find out they are wrong. None of us can earn our salvation! Teddy was great and he seemed as though he was really considering a lot of what Jesus says, to follow Him alone. I also saw Teddy again later in the night and he said hi which was nice.
One of the biggest conversations of the night was with a sweet 16 year old kid named Frankie. At first he didn't want to come over but I think God was putting it on his heart. We started chatting and the conversation took many unexpected turns. He seems like a very nice, high school achiever with many friends it seemed. Then he started mentioning how he didn't believe the bible was the word of God and we shouldn't take it literally. I asked him how he knows that to be true and he couldn't give an answer. Then a fellow evangelist stepped in and gave Frankie the statistics of the bible and how many prophesies were fulfilled in the bible. He then said that he had sort of a vision that a spirit told him to do something that was against the bible. It wasn't something you would expect from a kid who looked like him, but we saints know the bible says "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."- 1 Peter 5:8.
I told him that he wasn't following God and he was following the devil and he needs to repent and trust in Jesus. He kept going back and forth with the other evangelist and apparently I found out later he told him that he hears dead spirits. I regret not being there when he said that because I wish I would've told him more that those voices are not from God. My heart just really truly broke for him and he seemed to be stuck on one particular sin instead of seeing how sinful we all are in general. If any of us have lied or stolen or hated (which in God's eyes in murder), these are all sins that God will judge us on and there is no way any of us are good people! Only God is good! But Frankie has been on my mind a lot today and I hope I remember to really be praying for him.
For a couple of weeks now, I've been praying as the bible says we should, that God lifts up more laborers into the field. And last night my prayers were answered! Two new evangelists who never came out before to this ministry were there and I am really praising God for that! I feel so thankful that God is just working in so many people's lives and He cares about the lost so much. One fellow sister in Christ and myself got to witness to two younger girls Bella and Brittany. It was a blessing to share the gospel with them and they seemed really receptive to hearing the good news! They even came back later in the evening and talked to me again which was awesome.
On a side note, I feel really bad because I wrote down a lot of names of people who I spoke with last night and lost the list. It's sad because I wanted to remember who to pray for though I don't pray for the lost nearly as much as I should.
One interesting conversation of the night was with this cute semi-hipster couple. The guy was a false convert thinking he was a Christian because he goes to church or prayed a prayer, never realizing that he has to truly follow Jesus. His girlfriend Cassie never heard the gospel before, not even from her boyfriend. It was kind of concerning and it really confirms what Jesus says "But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."- Matthew 7:14. Satan is leading so many people astray thinking they are saved but in reality they are trusting in themselves and not in Jesus. They are their own gods, and the reason I know this is because I used to be one of them. I thank God for giving me time to repent and really trust in Jesus knowing to count the costs, that nothing is more valuable than my soul and Jesus is truly a treasure that we need to love and obey with all our hearts. He said he goes to Cornerstone Calvary, but it concerned me as it seems he never heard most of this stuff before. He asked what denomination I am, and I really tried to convey that it doesn't matter what church you go to as long as it's bible based and follows the word of God (and doesn't take scripture out of context, is what I should have said).
Later in the evening, a really large group of kids came over and they were mocking us a lot. One kid in the group Mike was really listening so I was trying to speak to him. He said he was Jewish and I read to him Isaiah 53 and asked him who that verse was about. He said Jesus. I then told him that verse was written hundreds of years before Jesus. To show him how the old testament predicted Jesus and he is the messiah! I then told him about the story of Abraham where he told Isaac that God would provide the lamb for a sacrifice. Yet they sacrifice a goat. No one would probably notice it while reading it. But then in the new testament, John the baptist declares "Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world", trying to show Mike that Abraham was talking about Jesus. We gave him a bible and I really hope he reads it.
Later, another kids from Mike's group came up to me and started going back and forth. He seemed really upset about what God says in the bible and he even said "my god would never send people to hell". And that is true because his god doesn't exist! Only the God in the bible exists and if God is good He has to punish evil. God can't just let liars and thieves and rapists go or He wouldn't be good. And since we know God is good, he has to punish sin to be Just. But in His mercy, he sent Jesus to take the punishment for those who believe in Him. He got pretty upset towards the end of the discussion and finally said he refuses to believe in Jesus and what the bible says and he believes the "god" in his head. I told him, if I believe a green christmas tree is "god" and I worship it but go out and kill people, will I go to heaven? The reason I asked this was because he seemed to think that all truth is valid truth. I tried to explain to him that if two religions say completely contradictory things, then they both can't be right. So Jesus says he's the only way, and if allah says he's the only way, they both can't be right. So I told him he has to choose which one is true. Jesus says "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me."
One of the last conversations had no words to describe it. I was exhausted and worn down and God brought up a HUGE group of kids like maybe 8-10. And in normal life I am a very low talker and it's hard for me to project my voice. I've been told this MANY times. Well something amazing happened that I know was the Holy Spirit, all of a sudden my voice just got so loud and even though some people were mocking, I remember asking them to stop and they did. I can't explain what happened but I was also able to quote scripture that I didn't know I knew. One kid was listening to every single word and I tried to share with him about Jesus as much as I could. Two more girls came over and he even stayed and listened a second time to the gospel. At the end we were able to give him a bible as a gift. One of the first time evangelists there said she thought he would be a pastor when he gets older and she just has a feeling about certain people. I would be happy just to know he was saved...
There was another sweet girl in the group named Alyssa who was I believe the last person we spoke to. She came over five or so times to another evangelist after she heard the first gospel message. My heart breaks for her because again, she seemed to focus only on one sin in her life, and not look at all the millions of other sins she has done against God and how she needs Jesus. She even brought two other of her friends to come over and start yelling at the other evangelist saying "why are you judging people? who are you to judge people!". And we never judged them, we told them what the bible says. If we were loving people, wouldn't we warn them about what God says? If we hated them, we wouldn't say anything at all. So the logic was really backwards. For example, my dad is an alcoholic and if I never witnessed to him about Jesus, that would mean I didn't love him at all. Because I know what Jesus says and only those who believe in Him go to heaven and I love my dad and don't want him to perish and neither does God.
Overall, it was a great night and yet again we went in that night super anxious and left skipping with joy that God's word went out and that He is in charge of all things including their salvation. God just really gives us the privilege of sharing the gospel because He doesn't need us to, He allows us to...
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