Posts tagged Evangelism

I was reading in Matthew for my quiet time this week and I came across this simple quote from Jesus. This is in fact, the first recorded sermon we have of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. It’s simplicity is stunning and beautiful and it gets me thinking. I am curious if this sermon would work on a community college campus in 21st century America. Would this be the exact same sermon Jesus would preach if he were walking around Mesa, in 2012, instead Capernaum in A.D 30. Or, were these words only relevant when they were spoken by Jesus when He spoke them. Was that time and place the perfect combination for this simple exhortation to be effective?

Here’s is why I am thinking this. The people he was preaching to would be expecting a Messiah. They were expecting something to happen. For the most part, they were looking forward to the Kingdom of Heaven, and this would be something that perhaps they would be familiar with. They would have been mostly religious people: Jews. So they would have understood sin, and repentance, and maybe some of them might have even understood their need for a savior. But, the people I talk to today do not seem to meet any of these criteria. They do not have an understanding of God, or sin, or their need. Maybe they understand their need, but they do not see how the solution of Jesus meets their need. At least, they don’t see it immediately. It takes time and words to communicate the ideas of salvation, of sin, and redemption; repentance and forgiveness do not come naturally to this generation. 

But still I wonder, if perhaps these words still have power. It makes me think. I desire to see people come to faith in Jesus. I desire to see people repent and believe in Christ, and I long to teach and proclaim “Behold, the Kingdom of God is near and is upon you.”

How many chances to share the gospel have been missed? I know I certainly seem to keep missing chance after chance. The latest instance was a few days ago. I was driving some people home from a worship night when I got into a conversation with one of my passengers. I was just asking how everyone thought it went when one person said worship  wasn’t really her “thing.” This immediately caught my attention and we began a simple conversation. 

She basically confessed that she grew up in a church background, but had found it to be something that no longer had an value to her. And when I asked her what she believed, she seem unprepared to answer the question. We went back and forth a little until I realized she was a “rationalist” (probably not a very devout one, so I use the term loosely) and that she only believed in what she could see. She said that she did not believe there was any such thing as an absolute truth or that there was anything that existed besides this life. This is where I wish I had known something better to say.

I had just recently been reading an article about a logical proof that God exists and so this is where I steer the conversation. I talk about how there is a logical proof that Go exists, and how there must be an absolute truth, and an absolute morality. Because, as I told her, if there was no such thing as an absolute morality, then you have to honestly believe that Hitler was justified in killing anyone he desired, for if morality is relative then who are you or I to say any different? However, I begin to realize that we don’t have much longer as we are getting close to arriving at our destination. I start to force the argument along without building a strong enough case, and due to my hasty approach, her rebuttal is clear evidence to her that she could still be right. It seems as though I had failed to really help her see the fallacies of her beliefs. As time runs out, I begin to realize that perhaps I could have done something different. I wish I had been more careful, or perhaps tried to stay to the gospel narrative. But, I could do nothing but pray and ask God to use my meager attempts for His glory.

Is anyone ever really won to God by rational arguments about God’s existence? I suppose they could be, I would not know for sure because I have never witnessed it happening. But I doubt my own ability was sufficient in this specific instance. All I could do was be cordial and positive and pray that I may have another opportunity to actually share the life-changing power of the gospel with this person. So I did pray, and I do pray, and I ask you join with me in this prayer for the unnamed student:

God, please change this young person’s heart. Let their eyes be opened and their heart melted by the love, grace and hope of Jesus Christ. Oh, that this person could live a life set apart by a commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. Show your greatness and your power by transforming a life and allow the young believer who befriended this person take every opportunity to share the gospel as well, that they too may join in Your work of impacting lives at MCC. In the all-powerful name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

A few weeks ago at MCC I had the opportunity to meet with several students and have a lot of good conversations about God and the truth of the Bible. Out of all these conversations, there were 2 that really stood out to me and both called themselves agnostic, (which basically means that they aren’t opposed to believing in God, they just need proof before they believe it.)

The first student was very thoughtful and rational. He truly valued the importance of having a spiritual life. He asked really good questions and seriously pondered the truth that I was sharing with him. As I shared the gospel with him it became obvious that he was truly listening and willing to accept what I was saying. He was searching for evidence and I was able to share it with him, but at the end of the conversation, he said he felt like he really needed to study all the different faiths so that he could know which was true. He wanted to make sure he had a good reason for faith and was seriously willing to look for it.

The second student also claimed to be an agnostic, but as I began to share the truth with him, he seemed far less interested. He said that he really wished there was a God, and he wanted to have a spiritual life, but he simply found it too hard to believe the Bible was accurate and he scoffed at the idea that God could supernaturally intervene in the world. 

I tell you these two stories because I feel they offer a glimpse at two different types of students who need the power of the Holy Spirit to impact their lives. With student 1, God needs to show Himself to be real and the only real truth. With student 2, God needs to convince him that He is real and powerful. For these two students and all other students at MCC, we need to see God move in powerful ways that make students seek the truth and believe the truth. If we want to see a new revival in the lives of students, we need to see God’s power change the lives and minds of these students and convince them of their need for the gospel.

Join me today!

A few weeks ago at MCC, our table was one of only two tables on campus near the clock tower. The other table belonged to one of the most active groups on campus: the LGBTQ Alliance. The club represents the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender and Queer students and plans activities to promote awareness and advocates for these lifestyles. Having our little Christian Challenge table with our bright blue banner right across from this club’s table must have been very interesting to passers-by. I had several students stop by and ask me about homosexuality shortly before stopping by the other table.

All this to say that I had a few very interesting conversations with people who identified themselves as gay. And I wanted to share a conversation I had a student who told me that he was struggling with giving up on his faith because he was being socially and emotionally shunned by his family, his church and christian friends. Why he felt compelled to tell me this I have to assume is a God thing, but it made me feel very sad. I had no idea what to say, I am just one guy trying to make a difference for the Kingdom of God. So I said I was sorry, and that kind of thing shouldn’t happen. I tried to show compassion without judgement and it is my hope that I will have more opportunities to share the love of Jesus with him.

I ask you to please join me in praying for the lost students at MCC, and maybe this week pray especially for those who are struggling with gender-identity issues. Homosexuality is perhaps the greatest issue students are dealing with, and the only power strong enough to overcome Satan’s lies is the truth and power of the the gospel of Jesus Christ. So please join me in crying out to God for Him to show up in a powerful way on this campus and in this generation.

On Wednesdays I spend several hours hanging out at a table in the middle of Mesa Community College (MCC). I do this for several reasons:

1. I might just be a little bit crazy

2. Even though I live in Arizona, I don’t think I’ve spent enough time in the sun

3. I really enjoy having conversations with random students

4. I enjoy talking about spiritual things

5. I am trying to recruit new students for our campus ministry club

But, most importantly: I believe it is the most important thing I can be doing with my time! You see, students at MCC are surrounded by all sorts of influences and evil things which all vie for their time an affections. Most of them are unaware of the spiritual nature of their choices and I believe that is a travesty. If I do not go and sit there on that campus with my banner, and my picture cards, and my smile, and the Holy Spirit living inside me, no on else is. That is not to say that no one else is able, but simply there are no other people who are currently out there. And even if there were 10 full time ministers at MCC, it still wouldn’t be enough to reach the thousands of college students on the campus.

I firmly believe that God wants to impact this generation in a way that will radically impact the world. I also believe that God has called me to take part in this transformation by engaging in simple, but meaningful conversations with students on campus. I am really excited to be on this journey and looking forward to seeing what God is going to do.

I spent most of yesterday on campus at Mesa Community College. I tabled for about 3 and half hours, and then I led our Bible study. It was nice being back on campus after having a month or so off. I really enjoyed the conversations we had with the students, and it was great to hear their questions about scripture as we began our journey into Jeremiah.