(I was going to post about gospel tracts next – but was excited about this and wanted to share it)
While getting ready to run some errands at Wal-Mart, I was “loading my pockets”: wallet, cell phone (clips on belt), breath mints, keys – and my pocket New Testament. Instead of the New Testament, though, I decided to get a Gospel of John and a million dollar bill to go with it. I hadn’t ever given out a Gospel of John as a tract before, and thought I would give it a try.
When I was ready to check out at Wal-Mart, the lane I ended up in had a middle-aged woman with a crew-cut hairstyle running the register. I thought, “There is no way she’ll be receptive to a tract, and DEFINITELY not a Gospel of John.” Whenever I am giving out a million dollar bill tract at a store while I’m paying for merchandise, I always make sure I get the tract out AFTER I’m done paying. This time, while I was signing the credit card slip, I asked the checker if I had ever given her a million dollar bill before. She said no – but expressed interest in getting one. I asked if she liked to read – and she said she loves to read. I said that was great, because I had a Gospel of John in my pocket that had a million dollar bill in it. I pulled the Gospel out and gave it to her. She was happy to receive it – and thanked me for it! She had a huge smile and was starting to look through it right then (and there were several people waiting in line!).
I was amazed at her reception – when I had already convinced myself that she would reject the Gospel.
And yet, in thinking back to the outing, I missed several opportunities to hand out other tracts because I didn’t have enough in my pockets. I had had a key copied at Wal-Mart, and was helped by a very friendly older gentleman back in the automotive section. In addition, the lady that had been helping a long line of automotive customers had just finished with everyone in the line right as the man was finishing making the keys – I could have easily shared some gospel tracts with both of them.
For anyone else that is interested in some Gospel of John’s (www.pocketpower.org) – I got mine from the Pocket Testament League. They have a number of different Gospels of Johns; although I didn’t care for a number of the various covers (one was a lighthouse, and made me think of a certain cult that hands out religious “literature” to people). I had found a plainer cover that shows loaves of bread and is titled “Bread of Life.” They send out the gospels for free, but ask for a donation to cover their shipping costs, and obviously they appreciate donations to cover the printing costs as well. I had ordered Gospels to have at the Fair about a month ago. I put in an order for 60, and the fulfillment costs were $12 (which translated to $.20 per gospel); I donated an additional $12 to cover the cost of the printing, so my total cost per gospel was $.40.
If you decide to join the Pocket Testament League, please put my “member” number (224553) in when you sign up. Supposedly, there is a way that you can see how many gospels you’ve given away on the site, and if other people join using your referral number, you can see how many THEY have given away. It sounds like an exciting way to witness “multiplication” (much like the claims that multi-level marketing makes – but without the cost, and with the benefit of the gospel being shared!!).
The Pocket Testament League strongly encourages their members to order 30 gospels a month and then give one away per day. They also have an Evangelism Boot camp that is available through e-mail and is something I’ll probably sign up for.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Monday, August 21, 2006
An update, and totals from the Fair...
This has been a quiet week for me. I came down with a cold following the Fair (I was drained physically and not surprised that I caught something!) and have been resting.
I was excited to be able to share the gospel with a customer service rep on the phone last week. We had ordered a product for our business, but then were called and told the order was on “verification hold” until I called back in to authorize the order. I called in and authorized the order (took 10 minutes on hold, and then 1 minute of talking), and then spent about 10-15 minutes sharing the gospel with a lady who admitted she was headed for hell, but claimed to be a Christian, and also wanted to run her life as it is. I shared with much compassion and gentleness, but was also very direct with her, to the point of telling her she was defaming the name of Christ by claiming to be a Christian while choosing to run her own life. At the end of the call, I could tell she was under heavy conviction. I said I hoped I hadn’t ruined her day, but that it was something she needed to deal with, and she said it was absolutely the case and she thanked me for sharing.
Meg asked about totals from the Fair. I just talked with my brother this evening and have some updated totals. I don’t have a problem sharing specifics since this is an anonymous blog :-) and even if I had underwritten the entire project (which I didn’t), the Lord would get the credit for it anyways – not a person… If this is a help to you in considering such a project – it’s worth it to share it.
Booth at the Fair: $150
8x3 vinyl banner: $80
3,100 soda’s/waters: $775
(the prices varied, but the average price per drink, with tax, was probably right at $.25)
1,000 balloons: $60
4,000 tracts: $350
42 x 20 pound bags of ice: $150
Coolers: borrowed from believers
10 x 10 canopy: borrowed from a church
Total: about $1,500
(there were other expenses, like overnight freight for some tracts because we thought we were running low, but the above represents the major expenses)
Even though we are one family, there are a number of us that are working to support families, so everyone contributed to the project. There were also several other brothers in Christ that wanted to participate financially in the project (one even let us use his pickup truck for the week for transporting coolers – and that was a huge blessing).
While no one surrendered their life to the Lord while we were talking with them at the Fair, there were quite a few who were under heavy conviction and said they were going to get right with God. We don’t push people to “say a prayer” on the spot – if we had simply pushed for that we would have had a number that were willing to say a prayer to get their “ticket to heaven”. However, we were encouraging people to repent of their sins, believe in Jesus, and give Him control of their lives – and that’s a serious thing for a person to do!
I wonder how many people are reading this blog and perhaps haven’t even given full control of their life to the Lord. I had been “saved” for a number of years before I finally gave control of every area of my life to the Lord. In looking back I can’t even say for sure when I was saved. Was it when I prayed, or when I was finally willing to yield everything to Him?
Meg also asked about tracts, their history, and their effectiveness. I’ll likely be posting about that in a few days…
I was excited to be able to share the gospel with a customer service rep on the phone last week. We had ordered a product for our business, but then were called and told the order was on “verification hold” until I called back in to authorize the order. I called in and authorized the order (took 10 minutes on hold, and then 1 minute of talking), and then spent about 10-15 minutes sharing the gospel with a lady who admitted she was headed for hell, but claimed to be a Christian, and also wanted to run her life as it is. I shared with much compassion and gentleness, but was also very direct with her, to the point of telling her she was defaming the name of Christ by claiming to be a Christian while choosing to run her own life. At the end of the call, I could tell she was under heavy conviction. I said I hoped I hadn’t ruined her day, but that it was something she needed to deal with, and she said it was absolutely the case and she thanked me for sharing.
Meg asked about totals from the Fair. I just talked with my brother this evening and have some updated totals. I don’t have a problem sharing specifics since this is an anonymous blog :-) and even if I had underwritten the entire project (which I didn’t), the Lord would get the credit for it anyways – not a person… If this is a help to you in considering such a project – it’s worth it to share it.
Booth at the Fair: $150
8x3 vinyl banner: $80
3,100 soda’s/waters: $775
(the prices varied, but the average price per drink, with tax, was probably right at $.25)
1,000 balloons: $60
4,000 tracts: $350
42 x 20 pound bags of ice: $150
Coolers: borrowed from believers
10 x 10 canopy: borrowed from a church
Total: about $1,500
(there were other expenses, like overnight freight for some tracts because we thought we were running low, but the above represents the major expenses)
Even though we are one family, there are a number of us that are working to support families, so everyone contributed to the project. There were also several other brothers in Christ that wanted to participate financially in the project (one even let us use his pickup truck for the week for transporting coolers – and that was a huge blessing).
While no one surrendered their life to the Lord while we were talking with them at the Fair, there were quite a few who were under heavy conviction and said they were going to get right with God. We don’t push people to “say a prayer” on the spot – if we had simply pushed for that we would have had a number that were willing to say a prayer to get their “ticket to heaven”. However, we were encouraging people to repent of their sins, believe in Jesus, and give Him control of their lives – and that’s a serious thing for a person to do!
I wonder how many people are reading this blog and perhaps haven’t even given full control of their life to the Lord. I had been “saved” for a number of years before I finally gave control of every area of my life to the Lord. In looking back I can’t even say for sure when I was saved. Was it when I prayed, or when I was finally willing to yield everything to Him?
Meg also asked about tracts, their history, and their effectiveness. I’ll likely be posting about that in a few days…
Monday, August 14, 2006
Final County Fair 2006 Report
What an incredible week. The Lord worked in a mighty way, and sustained us through the late nights and hot weather. Today, as the Lord's day, has been a wonderful day of worship, rest, and recovery.
Friday was a much busier night. The temperature was more moderate (lower 90's, but as soon as the sun had set it was very pleasant), and the crowds were quite large. We probably gave out about 750 sodas and/or waters. The goal was to give each person two tracts with each soda (although some people already had received a certain tract, and we gave them a different one; or, a parent might stop by with several children and the parent was the primary one to receive a tract).
Again, I did hundreds of balloons for children and a number for teenagers.
We had more opportunities to speak one-on-one with people. The wonderful thing was that the tracts we handed out focused on whether we are "Good People" in God's eyes. By handing those tracts out, we could immediately start a conversation with the person about being a good person, or, the next night, if they said they had already received a certain tract, we could ask if they read it, and if they were a good person.
The days seemed to run together, but Friday and Saturday brought even more opportunities to share one-on-one. I recall several instances being able to share with teenage boys about salvation. One had started asking about unicorns in the Bible, and then after we talked about unicorns, we branched into salvation (check out AnswersInGenesis.org for more information about Unicorns in the Bible). He said he didn't truly know the Lord, even though he had prayed when he was younger and occasionally attended church. We not only talked about salvation and the gospel, we talked about what it means to surrender our lives to Jesus - and give Him control of everything. In essence, we were "counting the cost" of surrendering one's life to Jesus.
A lot of groups were even open to the gospel. Sometimes we'd be able to run through the "Good Person" test with four or five people. We had a few people get upset and storm off (one Pastor's son, partway through the "Good Person" test - which he was failing - threw his unopened soda to the ground with such force that it burst and then stormed off saying in disgust "Jesus is my Savior and I don't need any of this!" - wow)
Friday night I got to talk to a "goth" couple. They had walked by the booth a number of times throughout the week and refused drinks a number of times. Finally, late Friday night, when I offered them a balloon they stopped and said "sure." Turns out the girl had young twin sisters and was interested in two identical balloons for them - and they accepted sodas and tracts while they were there.
We haven't figured out the total's for the week: I estimate:
- 2,000~2,500 sodas/waters
- perhaps 4,000 gospel tracts
- opportunity to share individually with perhaps several hundred people
One incredible example of how the Lord works in hearts was in relation to the booth that was next to us. On one side we had a sporting goods store that had several ATV's on display. On the other side there was a water purification company. I don't believe they were actually selling units, but they were giving out free pens and asking people to sign up for a gift card and a free water test kit. It appeared to be a mother and teenage daughter that were working at the booth, along with others at different times. The daughter was not dressed in a Godly fashion.
I'm not sure we had any interactions with the daughter the various nights of the fair (other than giving her a soda and tract), but on Saturday afternoon she stopped by to talk with my sister and sister-in-law. She shared that the previous week they had been at a different Fair and had been next to a ministry of some sort, and that she was becoming convicted about her sin and an eternity in hell. Then, she was amazed that we would be directly next to her at this Fair. Turns out, simply by being next to her those nights at the Fair she was feeling the heavy conviction of the Holy Spirit. She said one of the nights she had a breakdown of some sort - and she had a question for my sister. Was it possible for her to accept Jesus as her Savior but still live as she wanted to?
We believe that one of the biggest reasons for our "success" throughout the week was that we were not affiliated with any church, and were not "funded" by a churches advertising budget. We had a number of people ask what church we were with, and they were always surprised to find out that we were just a family with a desire to share the gospel, and were providing the refreshments ourselves. People that were from churches received the regular "salvation" tracts as well as a special tract for Christians.
Friday was a much busier night. The temperature was more moderate (lower 90's, but as soon as the sun had set it was very pleasant), and the crowds were quite large. We probably gave out about 750 sodas and/or waters. The goal was to give each person two tracts with each soda (although some people already had received a certain tract, and we gave them a different one; or, a parent might stop by with several children and the parent was the primary one to receive a tract).
Again, I did hundreds of balloons for children and a number for teenagers.
We had more opportunities to speak one-on-one with people. The wonderful thing was that the tracts we handed out focused on whether we are "Good People" in God's eyes. By handing those tracts out, we could immediately start a conversation with the person about being a good person, or, the next night, if they said they had already received a certain tract, we could ask if they read it, and if they were a good person.
The days seemed to run together, but Friday and Saturday brought even more opportunities to share one-on-one. I recall several instances being able to share with teenage boys about salvation. One had started asking about unicorns in the Bible, and then after we talked about unicorns, we branched into salvation (check out AnswersInGenesis.org for more information about Unicorns in the Bible). He said he didn't truly know the Lord, even though he had prayed when he was younger and occasionally attended church. We not only talked about salvation and the gospel, we talked about what it means to surrender our lives to Jesus - and give Him control of everything. In essence, we were "counting the cost" of surrendering one's life to Jesus.
A lot of groups were even open to the gospel. Sometimes we'd be able to run through the "Good Person" test with four or five people. We had a few people get upset and storm off (one Pastor's son, partway through the "Good Person" test - which he was failing - threw his unopened soda to the ground with such force that it burst and then stormed off saying in disgust "Jesus is my Savior and I don't need any of this!" - wow)
Friday night I got to talk to a "goth" couple. They had walked by the booth a number of times throughout the week and refused drinks a number of times. Finally, late Friday night, when I offered them a balloon they stopped and said "sure." Turns out the girl had young twin sisters and was interested in two identical balloons for them - and they accepted sodas and tracts while they were there.
We haven't figured out the total's for the week: I estimate:
- 2,000~2,500 sodas/waters
- perhaps 4,000 gospel tracts
- opportunity to share individually with perhaps several hundred people
One incredible example of how the Lord works in hearts was in relation to the booth that was next to us. On one side we had a sporting goods store that had several ATV's on display. On the other side there was a water purification company. I don't believe they were actually selling units, but they were giving out free pens and asking people to sign up for a gift card and a free water test kit. It appeared to be a mother and teenage daughter that were working at the booth, along with others at different times. The daughter was not dressed in a Godly fashion.
I'm not sure we had any interactions with the daughter the various nights of the fair (other than giving her a soda and tract), but on Saturday afternoon she stopped by to talk with my sister and sister-in-law. She shared that the previous week they had been at a different Fair and had been next to a ministry of some sort, and that she was becoming convicted about her sin and an eternity in hell. Then, she was amazed that we would be directly next to her at this Fair. Turns out, simply by being next to her those nights at the Fair she was feeling the heavy conviction of the Holy Spirit. She said one of the nights she had a breakdown of some sort - and she had a question for my sister. Was it possible for her to accept Jesus as her Savior but still live as she wanted to?
We believe that one of the biggest reasons for our "success" throughout the week was that we were not affiliated with any church, and were not "funded" by a churches advertising budget. We had a number of people ask what church we were with, and they were always surprised to find out that we were just a family with a desire to share the gospel, and were providing the refreshments ourselves. People that were from churches received the regular "salvation" tracts as well as a special tract for Christians.
Friday, August 11, 2006
The County Fair – First Three Evenings
Wow – what an experience! I had no idea what to expect, and the Fair has lived up to that expectation.
We’ve been at the Fair Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. Each evening we arrived about 6:00. We’ve left at various times…
Tuesday and Wednesday were VERY hot (as we arrived at the Fair Wednesday the temperature was 104 degrees). We have an awning, but I’m usually standing in front of it so I get a bit of sunshine until the sun sets about 8:30. Thursday evening was cooler – but was also raining! Yet it was only sprinkles, and they stopped after an hour or two.
We gave away about 400 drinks on Tuesday evening, and probably about 1,000 tracts. And yes – everyone was right – we quickly ran out of water. We brought a much larger percentage of water on Wednesday evening and gave away close to 600 drinks (and probably 1,500 tracts). It’s funny to watch little drink carts drive up and down the main walkway advertising $1 soda’s/water – while we have them for free.
We’ve had lots of opportunities to share the gospel. Besides giving out tracts with drinks as time permits, a good portion of my time each evening is spent in front of the booth making balloon animals and hats for children. It definitely helps draw people to the booth! I’ll usually give the children a tract with the ten commandments in it (designed for children) – and always make sure their parents are OK with it (I have yet to have any parent say “no” – they are always grateful!).
Despite spending most of my time making balloons, I still had opportunities to personally witness to several people on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. One evening I noticed a young fellow with his girlfriend standing in the walkway outside the booth – talking. I walked over and asked if they had ever gotten a million dollar bill. Neither had, and they both wanted one. I said it had the million dollar question on the back, asking whether they would spend eternity in heaven or hell. We kept talking and I was able to share with them for about five minutes.
One thing we’ve noticed is that a lot of the young people have short attention spans due to the excitement all around. It’s hard to interact with a group of three or four at once because they are always looking around.
Thursday evening was absolutely incredible. Due to the rain and cooler temperatures (about 30 degree’s cooler than Wednesday evening!) the attendance was lower, and less people stopped by for soda or water. However, we still gave away 200-300 drinks and a lot of tracts. We stayed later Thursday evening, and I kept doing balloons while they took down the awning and packed up the coolers.
What was amazing was the teenagers that then showed up! The carnival was shutting down (along with all the booths), but I don’t think they wanted to go home yet. I started doing balloons and sharing the gospel with a group of kids – and continued doing so for the next hour or so. I had a group of between 5 and 15 kids almost the whole time, and there were different ones (most would get a balloon, talk for a while, and then move on).
I gave out all the tracts I had in my apron pockets, and more after my younger brother showed back up (they had hauled everything to the van and were waiting) and fetched some more tracts. I found a more effective way to keep a group of teenagers involved in the balloons: make them all balloon hats, but work on the hats in a random fashion. I’d start by getting everyone one balloon twisted in the base hat shape – and put it on them. Then, as we kept talking (I went through the good person test with a number of the groups), I’d keep adding balloons to the various hats. Girls usually got flower hats, and the guys usually got wild and colorful "crazy hats".
In talking with one group, one of the girls said she had tried to commit suicide when she was younger, and that her father is in prison (for drugs) and her mother lives in a different state. A young fellow shared how his friend recently died. Amazing opportunities!
Some of the young people said they would stop by our booth this evening for a free soda and to talk some more.
If you want to learn some basic balloon twisting, get Balloon Magic - by Marvin Hardy. Amazon has used copies available for $2 or $3. The book is incredible. I use some of the basic shapes, and then do some additional hats I’ve learned elsewhere.
Then, go to T Myers web store. Order several 260 blaster pumps (they are very durable – but you’ll want to always have a spare.
Then, go to the list of Balloons.
I usually get the Qualatex 260Q carnival assortment (bags of 250 cost about $12), as well as Yellow Bee Bodies.
That’s all you need to get started!
We’ve been at the Fair Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. Each evening we arrived about 6:00. We’ve left at various times…
Tuesday and Wednesday were VERY hot (as we arrived at the Fair Wednesday the temperature was 104 degrees). We have an awning, but I’m usually standing in front of it so I get a bit of sunshine until the sun sets about 8:30. Thursday evening was cooler – but was also raining! Yet it was only sprinkles, and they stopped after an hour or two.
We gave away about 400 drinks on Tuesday evening, and probably about 1,000 tracts. And yes – everyone was right – we quickly ran out of water. We brought a much larger percentage of water on Wednesday evening and gave away close to 600 drinks (and probably 1,500 tracts). It’s funny to watch little drink carts drive up and down the main walkway advertising $1 soda’s/water – while we have them for free.
We’ve had lots of opportunities to share the gospel. Besides giving out tracts with drinks as time permits, a good portion of my time each evening is spent in front of the booth making balloon animals and hats for children. It definitely helps draw people to the booth! I’ll usually give the children a tract with the ten commandments in it (designed for children) – and always make sure their parents are OK with it (I have yet to have any parent say “no” – they are always grateful!).
Despite spending most of my time making balloons, I still had opportunities to personally witness to several people on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. One evening I noticed a young fellow with his girlfriend standing in the walkway outside the booth – talking. I walked over and asked if they had ever gotten a million dollar bill. Neither had, and they both wanted one. I said it had the million dollar question on the back, asking whether they would spend eternity in heaven or hell. We kept talking and I was able to share with them for about five minutes.
One thing we’ve noticed is that a lot of the young people have short attention spans due to the excitement all around. It’s hard to interact with a group of three or four at once because they are always looking around.
Thursday evening was absolutely incredible. Due to the rain and cooler temperatures (about 30 degree’s cooler than Wednesday evening!) the attendance was lower, and less people stopped by for soda or water. However, we still gave away 200-300 drinks and a lot of tracts. We stayed later Thursday evening, and I kept doing balloons while they took down the awning and packed up the coolers.
What was amazing was the teenagers that then showed up! The carnival was shutting down (along with all the booths), but I don’t think they wanted to go home yet. I started doing balloons and sharing the gospel with a group of kids – and continued doing so for the next hour or so. I had a group of between 5 and 15 kids almost the whole time, and there were different ones (most would get a balloon, talk for a while, and then move on).
I gave out all the tracts I had in my apron pockets, and more after my younger brother showed back up (they had hauled everything to the van and were waiting) and fetched some more tracts. I found a more effective way to keep a group of teenagers involved in the balloons: make them all balloon hats, but work on the hats in a random fashion. I’d start by getting everyone one balloon twisted in the base hat shape – and put it on them. Then, as we kept talking (I went through the good person test with a number of the groups), I’d keep adding balloons to the various hats. Girls usually got flower hats, and the guys usually got wild and colorful "crazy hats".
In talking with one group, one of the girls said she had tried to commit suicide when she was younger, and that her father is in prison (for drugs) and her mother lives in a different state. A young fellow shared how his friend recently died. Amazing opportunities!
Some of the young people said they would stop by our booth this evening for a free soda and to talk some more.
If you want to learn some basic balloon twisting, get Balloon Magic - by Marvin Hardy. Amazon has used copies available for $2 or $3. The book is incredible. I use some of the basic shapes, and then do some additional hats I’ve learned elsewhere.
Then, go to T Myers web store. Order several 260 blaster pumps (they are very durable – but you’ll want to always have a spare.
Then, go to the list of Balloons.
I usually get the Qualatex 260Q carnival assortment (bags of 250 cost about $12), as well as Yellow Bee Bodies.
That’s all you need to get started!
Monday, August 07, 2006
Yet another customer service opportunity…
I needed to call a bank today and order some checks. A routine phone call; I was on hold for a few minutes, and then a few minutes with the customer service rep. In fact, I spent more time answering security questions than I did actually ordering checks!
He concluded the main part of the phone call with the usual question: is there anything else I can do for you?
I said I was set, but that they must be quite busy this morning because I’d had to wait on hold a few minutes. He agreed, and said that their managers were offering them overtime opportunities – which he enjoyed.
I then said that, I didn’t want to take his time on a busy morning, but I did have one other question for him, but that it wasn’t related to banking. He said that wasn’t a problem at all, to take whatever time I wanted and go ahead. I asked if he had ever taken the good person test and he said that he hadn’t.
We then had a good time going through the test. He definitely considered himself to be a good person. He was familiar with the ten commandments, couldn’t name them all, but felt he had kept most of them. He admitted to lying, stealing, blasphemy, and anger (murder of the heart). He said that if he died, and God judged him based on those commandments, he would be guilty. Then, he acknowledged he would be headed for hell – and that it concerned him.
I was once again amazed that, in a few minutes, a banking phone call had turned to an opportunity to witness, and the young man I was speaking with had just acknowledged his guilt before God and the fact that he was headed for hell.
Turns out he has a Bible at home, and occasionally reads it. I didn’t ask if he attends church, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he does. And yet, here is a nominally religious person that is headed for hell! What a travesty!
I wonder how many people read my blog that are in the exact same condition as that young man. Perhaps you also occasionally read your Bible. Perhaps you know a number of facts about God, and about Jesus. Facts will not save you. What you need is a Savior – and yet you must be willing to repent of your sins and believe (with all your heart) on Jesus. Then you must be willing to obey Him!
Repentance is a key aspect of salvation (not only feeling sorry about ones’ sins, but TURNING from them):
Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out …
Acts 17:30 … but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
(Keep in mind that baptism doesn’t save a person, but is something that a believer chooses to do after they are saved as a public demonstration of what has happened in their heart. For example, the thief on the cross wasn’t baptized, yet he went to heaven because he repented and trusted in Christ. Not only was the thief not baptized, but he didn’t take communion either!)
As I talked with the young man and encouraged him to get right with God, the idea of hypocritical Christians came up. I shared Matthew 7:21-23 with him (which says people that claim to be Christians but haven’t been saved by Jesus and don’t have a transformed life as a result – are headed for hell) and he agreed. Although he did say that he doesn’t follow anyone, but is his own person. I said that one of his biggest challenges in surrendering his life to Jesus would be that he would have to lay down his will. I said that if he were to study the times in Scripture when people came to Jesus, they always had to be willing to surrender what was most important in their lives. What was fascinating was that the young man agreed with me – but wasn’t ready to get right with God yet.
Since we had already discussed the gospel, the rest of the call we stayed focused on the importance of not delaying our salvation. We talked about trees (once they are bent, it is very difficult to straighten), and how a life that is lived in sin will result in a hard heart – a heart that may not be willing to repent at the end of one’s life (assuming one lives to an old age).
At the end of the call, when I said I hoped I hadn’t taken too much of his time, he said “not at all”, and thanked me for sharing with him.
I pray that he will surrender his life to Jesus before it is too late. If not, he’ll have an eternity in hell to think back to this conversation when he was given the gospel – and yet rejected it. (it’s an interesting study – and perhaps I’ll write about it later – but several Scriptures give an indication that people will have memory in hell and part of their torment will be recalling their life and the way they rejected Christ)
He concluded the main part of the phone call with the usual question: is there anything else I can do for you?
I said I was set, but that they must be quite busy this morning because I’d had to wait on hold a few minutes. He agreed, and said that their managers were offering them overtime opportunities – which he enjoyed.
I then said that, I didn’t want to take his time on a busy morning, but I did have one other question for him, but that it wasn’t related to banking. He said that wasn’t a problem at all, to take whatever time I wanted and go ahead. I asked if he had ever taken the good person test and he said that he hadn’t.
We then had a good time going through the test. He definitely considered himself to be a good person. He was familiar with the ten commandments, couldn’t name them all, but felt he had kept most of them. He admitted to lying, stealing, blasphemy, and anger (murder of the heart). He said that if he died, and God judged him based on those commandments, he would be guilty. Then, he acknowledged he would be headed for hell – and that it concerned him.
I was once again amazed that, in a few minutes, a banking phone call had turned to an opportunity to witness, and the young man I was speaking with had just acknowledged his guilt before God and the fact that he was headed for hell.
Turns out he has a Bible at home, and occasionally reads it. I didn’t ask if he attends church, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he does. And yet, here is a nominally religious person that is headed for hell! What a travesty!
I wonder how many people read my blog that are in the exact same condition as that young man. Perhaps you also occasionally read your Bible. Perhaps you know a number of facts about God, and about Jesus. Facts will not save you. What you need is a Savior – and yet you must be willing to repent of your sins and believe (with all your heart) on Jesus. Then you must be willing to obey Him!
Repentance is a key aspect of salvation (not only feeling sorry about ones’ sins, but TURNING from them):
Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out …
Acts 17:30 … but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
(Keep in mind that baptism doesn’t save a person, but is something that a believer chooses to do after they are saved as a public demonstration of what has happened in their heart. For example, the thief on the cross wasn’t baptized, yet he went to heaven because he repented and trusted in Christ. Not only was the thief not baptized, but he didn’t take communion either!)
As I talked with the young man and encouraged him to get right with God, the idea of hypocritical Christians came up. I shared Matthew 7:21-23 with him (which says people that claim to be Christians but haven’t been saved by Jesus and don’t have a transformed life as a result – are headed for hell) and he agreed. Although he did say that he doesn’t follow anyone, but is his own person. I said that one of his biggest challenges in surrendering his life to Jesus would be that he would have to lay down his will. I said that if he were to study the times in Scripture when people came to Jesus, they always had to be willing to surrender what was most important in their lives. What was fascinating was that the young man agreed with me – but wasn’t ready to get right with God yet.
Since we had already discussed the gospel, the rest of the call we stayed focused on the importance of not delaying our salvation. We talked about trees (once they are bent, it is very difficult to straighten), and how a life that is lived in sin will result in a hard heart – a heart that may not be willing to repent at the end of one’s life (assuming one lives to an old age).
At the end of the call, when I said I hoped I hadn’t taken too much of his time, he said “not at all”, and thanked me for sharing with him.
I pray that he will surrender his life to Jesus before it is too late. If not, he’ll have an eternity in hell to think back to this conversation when he was given the gospel – and yet rejected it. (it’s an interesting study – and perhaps I’ll write about it later – but several Scriptures give an indication that people will have memory in hell and part of their torment will be recalling their life and the way they rejected Christ)
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
I almost hung up?! But then the Lord opened the door…
I called to deal with financial software package that had renewed automatically without notifying me. I talked with rep about ways to be notified next year before the renewal (this particular software package has been known to raise their payroll service rates between 50% and 100% in any given year!)…
She had a little bit of an accent, so I suspected she was working in an overseas call center. I worked at speaking very clearly and distinctly while I was on the phone with her.
Afterwards, she asked if I would be willing to take a short customer service survey. I asked (kidding her a bit) if we would win anything as a result. She patiently explained that it was a survey for customer satisfaction and that it only took a little while. I said that would be fine, I don’t mind taking short customer service surveys.
I prayed for the Holy Spirit to open a door, and if the opportunity presented itself, that the Spirit would convict her of sin, righteousness, and judgment. (John 16:8 And when he [the Holy Spirit] is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment).
I then asked if she had just a minute before her next phone call came in because I had a question I wanted to ask her – but said it didn’t relate to business. She was curious and asked what the question was. I said it was a little test, and there was a moral at the end. I said if she had to go at some point it wasn’t a problem, and that it only took a few minutes.
I then asked if she had ever heard of the “Good Person” test. She paused, and hesitantly said she hadn’t. I said it was simple enough, and starts out asking if she would consider herself to be a good person. She paused, and then said “Yes, I would consider myself a good person.”
I said that is how most people view themselves… I asked if she was familiar with the ten commandments. She, again, hesitantly said she was (either she was apprehensive about the call or the possible language differences were causing her to think through each question before she was able to answer). I normally ask if a person feels they have kept all of them, some of them or none, but this time I started right into them.
She started to say that she couldn’t recall all of them, and I said it didn’t matter – we weren’t going to talk about all of them – just a few. I said the 9th commandment is that we are not supposed to lie; I asked if she had ever, in her life, told a lie, a half-truth, or an exaggeration. She had. I said I had done the same. “If we’ve both told lies, what would we be called?” I think the language barrier surfaced as she wasn’t able to quickly come up with the word, so I rather quickly supplied the “liar” term, and she readily agreed.
I said the 8th commandment is that we are not supposed to ever steal from others. I asked if she had ever, in her life, taken something from someone else without permission, even if it was something small, like a cookie from her parents or a toy from a sibling. She said she had done so – when she was young. I said I had done the same. I didn’t ask for the term, but said that we would both then be called “thieves” (and she agreed).
We talked a little about the 3rd commandment (taking God’s name in vain) and she said she had never done that – so we moved on.
Next was the 6th commandment: murder. I asked if she had ever killed someone, and she said “no” (and laughed – usually, when I ask the murder question it is a light hearted moment). I said that was good, but said there was bad news: God created us and knows our hearts and our thoughts, and that if we are even angry in our hearts towards someone God sees it as murder of the heart. I asked if she had ever been angry with others, and she quickly said yes.
I then summarized everything – saying that people would see her as a good person, and she obviously does a good job at her work, but that God would look at her heart (or mine), and see someone who is a lying, thieving, murderer at heart.
I asked if she were to die tonight and God judged her based on those ten commandments, as He says He will, would she be innocent or guilty. She said she would be guilty.
I then asked if she, being guilty, would spent eternity in heaven or hell.
She responded that God would make that decision. I readily agreed with her, but said that God, just like any fair judge and legal system, has told us exactly how He will “rule” when our case comes up. Ezekiel 18:20 – “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
I asked her if she was in the United States or another country – and she said she was in a different country. I said that her country surely had a justice system that had laws and consequences for breaking them, and that the judges were required to give out consequences. She said they did. I said that if she did something wrong in her country, even if her father was the judge, he would still be required to pass judgment on her and give her a consequence. She agreed (and I could tell, was understanding the analogy)… I said that is how it is with God. As a good Judge He is required to pass judgment on those that sin.
We talked more about the consequences of sin, and I asked if she had a Bible. She did, and used to read it when she was a student, but now with her job she was too busy. I encouraged her to get back into the Word to discover what Jesus has done for her so that she doesn’t have to spend an eternity in hell.
I outlined the plan of salvation for her, and was careful to stress the importance of surrendering her life fully to Christ; of repenting (stopping) the sinful activities that she was involved in and following Christ with her whole heart – not as so many hypocrites who go to church on Sunday but live like the world the rest of the week and are unknowingly headed for hell.
Matthew 7:21-23 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
We talked for several more minutes, and discussed several more analogies. When I felt the Spirit saying that enough had been shared, I said I was ready to go on to the customer service survey anytime. She then asked me for my e-mail address (I thought maybe to e-mail me the survey – which I had thought was on the phone) but she went on to say that she might have a spiritual question for me. I said that would be great as we have a web site with a contact form, and that my sister is probably about her age, or that my mother would love to help answer her questions.
I had also asked her if she had any Christians that she knew who were true Christians (and not hypocrites). She didn’t know of any. I asked if she knew of any Christian missionaries or pastors near her – and she said she had a friend who was a missionary in Africa. I encouraged her to get in contact with the missionary and ask her any questions she had.
I can’t fit the whole 10~15 minute conversation into a blog post – but this is the majority of it.
I was amazed at how close I came to simply saying goodbye to her and moving on to the customer satisfaction survey – without taking the time to try and share the gospel. How wonderful to see the Holy Spirit working in a heart, and to be able to the channel He used.
I wonder how many customer service phone calls I have ended without trying to share the gospel. Will their be people in hell because I didn’t take the time to share?
What about you – are you sharing? Do you have a faith to share?
She had a little bit of an accent, so I suspected she was working in an overseas call center. I worked at speaking very clearly and distinctly while I was on the phone with her.
Afterwards, she asked if I would be willing to take a short customer service survey. I asked (kidding her a bit) if we would win anything as a result. She patiently explained that it was a survey for customer satisfaction and that it only took a little while. I said that would be fine, I don’t mind taking short customer service surveys.
I prayed for the Holy Spirit to open a door, and if the opportunity presented itself, that the Spirit would convict her of sin, righteousness, and judgment. (John 16:8 And when he [the Holy Spirit] is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment).
I then asked if she had just a minute before her next phone call came in because I had a question I wanted to ask her – but said it didn’t relate to business. She was curious and asked what the question was. I said it was a little test, and there was a moral at the end. I said if she had to go at some point it wasn’t a problem, and that it only took a few minutes.
I then asked if she had ever heard of the “Good Person” test. She paused, and hesitantly said she hadn’t. I said it was simple enough, and starts out asking if she would consider herself to be a good person. She paused, and then said “Yes, I would consider myself a good person.”
I said that is how most people view themselves… I asked if she was familiar with the ten commandments. She, again, hesitantly said she was (either she was apprehensive about the call or the possible language differences were causing her to think through each question before she was able to answer). I normally ask if a person feels they have kept all of them, some of them or none, but this time I started right into them.
She started to say that she couldn’t recall all of them, and I said it didn’t matter – we weren’t going to talk about all of them – just a few. I said the 9th commandment is that we are not supposed to lie; I asked if she had ever, in her life, told a lie, a half-truth, or an exaggeration. She had. I said I had done the same. “If we’ve both told lies, what would we be called?” I think the language barrier surfaced as she wasn’t able to quickly come up with the word, so I rather quickly supplied the “liar” term, and she readily agreed.
I said the 8th commandment is that we are not supposed to ever steal from others. I asked if she had ever, in her life, taken something from someone else without permission, even if it was something small, like a cookie from her parents or a toy from a sibling. She said she had done so – when she was young. I said I had done the same. I didn’t ask for the term, but said that we would both then be called “thieves” (and she agreed).
We talked a little about the 3rd commandment (taking God’s name in vain) and she said she had never done that – so we moved on.
Next was the 6th commandment: murder. I asked if she had ever killed someone, and she said “no” (and laughed – usually, when I ask the murder question it is a light hearted moment). I said that was good, but said there was bad news: God created us and knows our hearts and our thoughts, and that if we are even angry in our hearts towards someone God sees it as murder of the heart. I asked if she had ever been angry with others, and she quickly said yes.
I then summarized everything – saying that people would see her as a good person, and she obviously does a good job at her work, but that God would look at her heart (or mine), and see someone who is a lying, thieving, murderer at heart.
I asked if she were to die tonight and God judged her based on those ten commandments, as He says He will, would she be innocent or guilty. She said she would be guilty.
I then asked if she, being guilty, would spent eternity in heaven or hell.
She responded that God would make that decision. I readily agreed with her, but said that God, just like any fair judge and legal system, has told us exactly how He will “rule” when our case comes up. Ezekiel 18:20 – “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
I asked her if she was in the United States or another country – and she said she was in a different country. I said that her country surely had a justice system that had laws and consequences for breaking them, and that the judges were required to give out consequences. She said they did. I said that if she did something wrong in her country, even if her father was the judge, he would still be required to pass judgment on her and give her a consequence. She agreed (and I could tell, was understanding the analogy)… I said that is how it is with God. As a good Judge He is required to pass judgment on those that sin.
We talked more about the consequences of sin, and I asked if she had a Bible. She did, and used to read it when she was a student, but now with her job she was too busy. I encouraged her to get back into the Word to discover what Jesus has done for her so that she doesn’t have to spend an eternity in hell.
I outlined the plan of salvation for her, and was careful to stress the importance of surrendering her life fully to Christ; of repenting (stopping) the sinful activities that she was involved in and following Christ with her whole heart – not as so many hypocrites who go to church on Sunday but live like the world the rest of the week and are unknowingly headed for hell.
Matthew 7:21-23 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
We talked for several more minutes, and discussed several more analogies. When I felt the Spirit saying that enough had been shared, I said I was ready to go on to the customer service survey anytime. She then asked me for my e-mail address (I thought maybe to e-mail me the survey – which I had thought was on the phone) but she went on to say that she might have a spiritual question for me. I said that would be great as we have a web site with a contact form, and that my sister is probably about her age, or that my mother would love to help answer her questions.
I had also asked her if she had any Christians that she knew who were true Christians (and not hypocrites). She didn’t know of any. I asked if she knew of any Christian missionaries or pastors near her – and she said she had a friend who was a missionary in Africa. I encouraged her to get in contact with the missionary and ask her any questions she had.
I can’t fit the whole 10~15 minute conversation into a blog post – but this is the majority of it.
I was amazed at how close I came to simply saying goodbye to her and moving on to the customer satisfaction survey – without taking the time to try and share the gospel. How wonderful to see the Holy Spirit working in a heart, and to be able to the channel He used.
I wonder how many customer service phone calls I have ended without trying to share the gospel. Will their be people in hell because I didn’t take the time to share?
What about you – are you sharing? Do you have a faith to share?
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