I want to take a little time to share with you how I approach people that I am going to witness to.
My day starts off in prayer and reading the Bible. We need to keep our minds sharp and our hearts ready for each and every opportunity that comes across to us.
So read along and then tell me if you think a person would be offended by how I present God's Word to them.
I go to my fishing-hole daily (McDonalds). I sit there and eat something or just get a large coke to drink. If I am reading my Bible, I am sure to leave a couple of tracts laying out for people to see them. (They are great conversation starters). If someone sits at the next table to me, I will give them time to eat their food. As they are finishing, I give them eye contact and say hi to them. I ask them how their day is going so far. We talk about the cold weather we are having (Illinois). I start out in the natural realm. They are comfortable. I then tell them I have a fun intelligence test that takes just a couple of minutes and ask them if they would like to help me out. Unless they are in a huge hurry (they go to the drive-thru if they are really in a huge hurry), almost 100% of the time, they are willing to do it. So here we go...
INTELLIGENCE TEST
1. How many of each animal did Moses take into the Ark?
2. What is the name of the raised print that deaf people use?
3. Is it possible to end a sentence with the word "the?"
4. Spell the word "shop." What do you do when you come to a green light?
5. It is noon. You look at the clock. The big hand is on the three. The little hand is on the five. What time is it?
6. Spell the word "silk." What do cows drink?
7. Listen carefully. You are the driver of a train. There are 30 people on board. At the first stop ten people get off. At the next stop five people get on. Now for the question: What is the name of the driver?
8. How many of the Ten Commandments can you name?
Okay, there are actually 16 questions but I usually just do the first eight to save some time. I will post the answers down in the comments section along with the usual responses I get. The first seven questions all end with the people laughing at how badly they have gotten the answers wrong. They are all smiling and within a matter of a couple of minutes I have made them feel good and relaxed. I was able to find out their spiritual maturity by asking them to name the Ten Commandments. They are not offended because it is just one of the fun questions. So we have deliberately swung from the natural realm to the spiritual realm.
I then ask them if they think they have done a good job of keeping the Ten Commandments. Most everyone says, yes! Okay, so would you consider yourself to be a good person? Most everyone says, yes! (the Bible tells us that every man will proclaim his own goodness!). I then say, do you mind if I ask you a few questions to see if that is true? Everyone has agreed because they have had fun answering the questions and because they all want to prove that they indeed are a good person.
First question -- Have you ever told a lie? everyone will say yes they have. What does that make you? a sinner. No, more specifically, what does it make you, what are you called? a liar
Second question -- Have you ever stolen anything, regardless of the value? most people will say they have stolen something. But, if they say no, you can just say, "come on now, you just admitted you are a liar. They will always come back with, yes, when I was small I maybe stole something.
Third question -- You have heard it said you shall not commit adultery, but Jesus said that any man who looks after a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. Have you ever looked at another person with lust? they will all say yes. Even the homosexual is guilty of looking at another man with lust.
So, by your own admission, you are a lying, thief and an adulterer at heart. (now this is not me pointing a finger at them and saying you are a sinner headed for hell. No, I am just repeating with they have already admitted to. They do not get offended by you saying this to them) They usually laugh at this point because they had said they were a good person and by their own words you just proved to them that they are not good at all.
Now if God were to judge you based on the Ten Commandments, would you be innocent or guilty? Now some people will still say they are innocent (because they do not want to admit that they are guilty before God) At this point, show them what would happen if they used that logic in a court of law. "Judge, I know that you have evidence of me stealing that car, but I am innocent." The judge will look at the evidence at hand and say that regardless of what you think, you are still guilty and I must punish you for your crime. You want to get the person to admit they are guilty of breaking God's Commands, because they are guilty.
When they say they are guilty, then ask them, "Will you go to heaven or hell? again, many people will try to justify their position before God and say heaven. Ask them why they think that. Is it because they think they are a good person and God will forgive them of their sins? Yeah, that's it. He'll forgive me of my sins. Again, try that in a court of law. "Judge, I raped that girl several times and I am really sorry. I know you are a good judge and will forgive me of my crime." The judge will look at him and say, "you are right about one thing, I am a good judge and BECAUSE I am a good judge, I MUST punish your crime. See, just telling God you're sorry is not enough. You SHOULD be sorry for what you have done. You have broken God's Law and God is a Holy and Just Judge. By His very nature, He MUST punish you for your sins. You would have to say you are guilty before God. They will say, you're right. I am headed to hell.
Does that concern you? Because it concerns me. They will most always say, yes it does concern me.
Do you know what God did so you wouldn't have to go to hell? He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for your sins. He took the punishment that was due you. What you have to do is, Repent of your sins. Don't do them any more. And put your faith and trust in Jesus much the same way you would trust a parachute. You wouldn't just "believe" in the parachute, you would put it on. And that is what the Bible tells us, we are to put on the Lord Jesus. If you do that, then you will be saved. You need to get into God's Word. Read it every day and obey what you read. Does that make sense to you? yes it does, thank you. I have never heard it put to me like that before.
People will thank you for talking with them. Why? Because you were not judgmental. You did not accuse them of being a sinner. You just presented God's Law to them the way Jesus did. The way Paul did and the way the other disciples did. Paul said, I did not know what sin was but by the Law. We are also told that the Law acts as our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul. What is perfect converting the soul? The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul.
See people, we do not need new ideas, new books on how to build a larger church full of programs and community. We do not need a book on our purpose for life. We do not need to redefine Scripture to make it more relevant for today's society. We have the Bible! THE LAW OF THE LORD IS PERFECT CONVERTING THE SOUL.
either you believe the Word of God to be true. All of it! Or you don't. There is no middle ground.
If you have any questions that I can help you with, please email me or leave me a comment. I am always happy to help.
HOW MANY OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS CAN YOU NAME?
(answers to test are in comments section along with typical responses)
2. What is the name of the raised print that deaf people use?
3. Is it possible to end a sentence with the word "the?"
4. Spell the word "shop." What do you do when you come to a green light?
5. It is noon. You look at the clock. The big hand is on the three. The little hand is on the five. What time is it?
6. Spell the word "silk." What do cows drink?
7. Listen carefully. You are the driver of a train. There are 30 people on board. At the first stop ten people get off. At the next stop five people get on. Now for the question: What is the name of the driver?
8. How many of the Ten Commandments can you name?
Okay, there are actually 16 questions but I usually just do the first eight to save some time. I will post the answers down in the comments section along with the usual responses I get. The first seven questions all end with the people laughing at how badly they have gotten the answers wrong. They are all smiling and within a matter of a couple of minutes I have made them feel good and relaxed. I was able to find out their spiritual maturity by asking them to name the Ten Commandments. They are not offended because it is just one of the fun questions. So we have deliberately swung from the natural realm to the spiritual realm.
I then ask them if they think they have done a good job of keeping the Ten Commandments. Most everyone says, yes! Okay, so would you consider yourself to be a good person? Most everyone says, yes! (the Bible tells us that every man will proclaim his own goodness!). I then say, do you mind if I ask you a few questions to see if that is true? Everyone has agreed because they have had fun answering the questions and because they all want to prove that they indeed are a good person.
First question -- Have you ever told a lie? everyone will say yes they have. What does that make you? a sinner. No, more specifically, what does it make you, what are you called? a liar
Second question -- Have you ever stolen anything, regardless of the value? most people will say they have stolen something. But, if they say no, you can just say, "come on now, you just admitted you are a liar. They will always come back with, yes, when I was small I maybe stole something.
Third question -- You have heard it said you shall not commit adultery, but Jesus said that any man who looks after a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. Have you ever looked at another person with lust? they will all say yes. Even the homosexual is guilty of looking at another man with lust.
So, by your own admission, you are a lying, thief and an adulterer at heart. (now this is not me pointing a finger at them and saying you are a sinner headed for hell. No, I am just repeating with they have already admitted to. They do not get offended by you saying this to them) They usually laugh at this point because they had said they were a good person and by their own words you just proved to them that they are not good at all.
Now if God were to judge you based on the Ten Commandments, would you be innocent or guilty? Now some people will still say they are innocent (because they do not want to admit that they are guilty before God) At this point, show them what would happen if they used that logic in a court of law. "Judge, I know that you have evidence of me stealing that car, but I am innocent." The judge will look at the evidence at hand and say that regardless of what you think, you are still guilty and I must punish you for your crime. You want to get the person to admit they are guilty of breaking God's Commands, because they are guilty.
When they say they are guilty, then ask them, "Will you go to heaven or hell? again, many people will try to justify their position before God and say heaven. Ask them why they think that. Is it because they think they are a good person and God will forgive them of their sins? Yeah, that's it. He'll forgive me of my sins. Again, try that in a court of law. "Judge, I raped that girl several times and I am really sorry. I know you are a good judge and will forgive me of my crime." The judge will look at him and say, "you are right about one thing, I am a good judge and BECAUSE I am a good judge, I MUST punish your crime. See, just telling God you're sorry is not enough. You SHOULD be sorry for what you have done. You have broken God's Law and God is a Holy and Just Judge. By His very nature, He MUST punish you for your sins. You would have to say you are guilty before God. They will say, you're right. I am headed to hell.
Does that concern you? Because it concerns me. They will most always say, yes it does concern me.
It is at this point that you NOW PRESENT GOD'S LOVE!!
Why? because now it will make sense to the person.
Why? because now it will make sense to the person.
Do you know what God did so you wouldn't have to go to hell? He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for your sins. He took the punishment that was due you. What you have to do is, Repent of your sins. Don't do them any more. And put your faith and trust in Jesus much the same way you would trust a parachute. You wouldn't just "believe" in the parachute, you would put it on. And that is what the Bible tells us, we are to put on the Lord Jesus. If you do that, then you will be saved. You need to get into God's Word. Read it every day and obey what you read. Does that make sense to you? yes it does, thank you. I have never heard it put to me like that before.
People will thank you for talking with them. Why? Because you were not judgmental. You did not accuse them of being a sinner. You just presented God's Law to them the way Jesus did. The way Paul did and the way the other disciples did. Paul said, I did not know what sin was but by the Law. We are also told that the Law acts as our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul. What is perfect converting the soul? The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul.
See people, we do not need new ideas, new books on how to build a larger church full of programs and community. We do not need a book on our purpose for life. We do not need to redefine Scripture to make it more relevant for today's society. We have the Bible! THE LAW OF THE LORD IS PERFECT CONVERTING THE SOUL.
either you believe the Word of God to be true. All of it! Or you don't. There is no middle ground.
If you have any questions that I can help you with, please email me or leave me a comment. I am always happy to help.
HOW MANY OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS CAN YOU NAME?
(answers to test are in comments section along with typical responses)
ANSWER GIVEN FOR INTELLIGENCE TEST!
ReplyDelete1. Two! (the real answer is none, It was Noah that took them into the ark.)
2. braille (the real answer is "deaf people do not use raised print, blind people do!)
3. No. (real answer is yes,I just did!)
4. S H O P, stop (the real answer is you go!)
5. 5:15 (the real answer is it is noon! -- the clock is wrong)
6. S I L K, milk (the real answer is water)
7. huh? (the real answer is the name of the listener)
8. most everyone starts off with, "you shall not murder." When they do that, I know they will only answer about 4 or 5 of them. I have found that only about 4% of the people know all ten of the commandments.
how did you do on the test?
before anyone says anything funny...
ReplyDeletethat is not my picture in the post!!!!!!!!! that is Einstein
1. you shall have no other gods before me
ReplyDelete2. no murder
3. no adultery
4. no lying
5. honor mother and father
6. no coveting
7. don't take the name of the Lord in vain
this is all I could think of really quickly... eesh...
i love wotm, just not brave enough to do it that way all the time...
Not too bad Michelle!
ReplyDeleteWant a sure fire way to learn and memorize the Ten Commandments? I can have you look at something and you will have all Ten memorized in two minutes.
go to: www.livingwaters.com
in the middle of the page near the top you will find a link for "Free Evangelism Resources." Click on it. or here is the link. http://www.livingwaters.com/m_equip.shtml
now scroll down the left hand side of the page and you will see a couple of links for the Ten Commandments. The one for kids is really good because it actually gives each of the wording for the Commandments. Study it for two minutes and then just remember what the numbers represent in the pictures and you will have the Commandments memorized!
Brian,
ReplyDeleteWas that directed at me?!? How could you even think someone would say such a thing!! It's quite obvious that Einstein had gray hair and your's is blonde...how could ANYONE make such a silly mistake in confusing you two!
:)
well, you know, great minds think alike. ;0)
ReplyDeleteDo you suppose he was the "life of the party" back in his day??
i bet you he was crazy like me!!! which then means, yes!
ReplyDeletedid you know the mormon president died...
Wow! what a turnaround. One minute talking about parties and next line about death. ;o)
ReplyDeleteNo, I hadn't heard about it. I wonder if he was able to prophesize that it would happen when it did? I don't mean to make fun of it because it is actually very sad that another person has most likely gone to hell for believing in a False Jesus and for leading millions of people away from the real Jesus of the Bible.
i gotta keep you on your toes! that's one of the things i love about myself...i can be really random at times.
ReplyDeleteyeah, it is really sad. i just thought about it because all the missionaries i've talked to have said, "our prophet gordon b. hinckley says...blah blah blah..." i wish i would have found some mormons and ask them what's the lastest prophet saying now...i dont know if it's mean, just the fact that one president/prophet dies and then another one is automatically "called by God" when in fact it's just a counsel of men saying, ok, know your the president/prophet. i can just see the men sitting around, "i wonder who's gonna be prophet next...oh, i hope it's me!"
am i correct in saying that the mormon church president is also the current prophet?
Michelle -
ReplyDeleteTrust me.......you can do it. I said the same thing to myself 4 years ago. I realized that too many people were going to hell in my little part of the world here in the Bible belt of North Georgia.
Here's what I did: I practiced the method that you just read from Pastor Brian and watched myself in the mirror to make sure that I didn't have a funky look on my face while I was talking. Then I decided to jump in head first and go witniessing....alone.
It was the 4th of July and I had ordered 200 patriotic tracts to pass out while people waited for the fireworks to start.
I figured I could just walk and hand out tracts quickly so one would be able to speak to me...sort of a hit and run approach. Well, that worked fine for the first 5 minutes and then someone said, "Are you one of those Jesus Freaks"?....Oh no, my worst fears were coming true...someone was going to belittle me for what I was doing.
I turned back around to the fellow and said yes, I guess I am. We then proceeded to have a 20 minute conversation in which, for the first time in my Christian life (I was 10 years old in my Christian walk then), I shared the Gospel with someone.
I was pumped, stoked....I said to myself, I can really do this. All my fears of what to say, how to say it, fear of the other person went right out the window when I stepped out in faith and let God work through me.
After that day I never looked back. Do I still get a squirmy, nervous feeling before I witness today? You bet I do. But I do it anyway because, #1 we are commanded to do so, but #2 people are going to hell all around us and we have the key to save their lives.
Michelle - I know it seems nerve racking, but please consider buying some tracts and to begin with, just leave them in certain places. This will give you some confidence to actually start talking to folks.
I promise you.....If I can do it, you can do it.
In Him,
Waynedawg
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteI felt the same exact way when I first started in the WotM ministries. I went to a community college where we had a group called InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. An older man often came in to help us learn about the Bible. He was involved with WotM also, which was pretty cool because at the time, I didn't know anyone who was. Well, the college was having this day where a bunch of groups would put tables in a row down the hallway so students could get involved with whatever group they chose. It was our chance! The man involved with WotM ministry brought his whole collection of gospel tracts he let us use. And we offered cookies that the men (the leader's wife and some other people from his church would make some). When someone walked by, we would say, "Would you like a cookie." Who would turn down a free cookie? Then we would offer a gospel tract. "Do you have a few minutes to take an Intellegence Test." We used the same test that was listed in this post. Most would say yes, but some did say no because they were on their way to class. But we would at least give it to them to take with them. To those who did take the test, we approached it afterwards just like Pastor Brian mentioned above: ask them if they were a good person, presented the Law, etc.
I'll be honest with you. We had a two hour block, and for the first hour I sat behind the table. I was scared to death! Then I finally did it! It was amazing to watch how even the pride-filled people would humble themselves before God's Law. And honestly, people DO thank you!
We had some people who were turned off, of course. And you will get that. I remember one particular gentleman who asked what group it was. I mentioned it was InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and he just turned and goes... "NO WAY! I don't want anything to do with that."
Just remember what Jesus says about getting persecuted for His name's sake! It's scary, I know! And sometimes I still get a little nervous about doing it, especially to those we know! But people are dying every day, and people are going to hell every day!
Here's a challenge: for one week, listen to a Ray Comfort speech at least once a day (if not three times), read nothing but Biblical Christian blogs (like the one you are reading here), and of course, read the Bible multiple times. Try not to watch any TV at all, and listen to no music (but if you can't do that, at least fill your mind with nothing but Christian music). Go to YouTube and search Kirk Cameron. WayoftheMaster is actually a YouTube username. Watch some of Ray's Open Air's in Huntington Beach. More or less what I'm saying is fill your heart and mind with Biblical evangelical teachings and watch people, like Ray and others, do it, for about a week. You also might be able to go to the Way of the Master website and watch some of the WotM shows. You'll be amazed at how on fire you will become just by filling your heart for only ONE WEEK with solid biblical principles.
Praying for you, Michelle!