Hello Beloved,
I have been encouraged by those of you who have been challenged by the written accounts of my recent witnessing encounters. It’s a real blessing to know that God is using them. So the fruit keeps growing and growing. As I’ve said before, I would love to help any of you find the resources you need to start going out and reaching the lost.
Last Thursday night was awesome. Not only did we have some wonderful conversations, but my beautiful wife, Paige, went with me. Olivia tagged along as well. It’s been a while since Paige and I went witnessing together. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ve gone since we’ve been married. That’s going to change though. What a wonderful experience it is to do ministry as a family.
Our first conversation was with two boys. One was named Ahmed and I can’t spell, nor pronounce, the name of the other boy. I was doing my typical survey approach, which I learned from Mark Cahill. It’s definitely my favorite way to start conversations. These guys looked like they were in a hurry, so I had to walk backward for a few seconds before they stopped. I asked them my usual question, “When you die, what do you think is out there?” Considering how the rest of the conversation went, they gave surprising answers. Ahmed said, “Heaven”, while the other boy, we’ll call him Steve, said, “I don’t know”. Ahmed also said that he believed in Hell.
We continued the conversation for a little while and it swung around to Judgment Day. Some of the things that Ahmed was saying was starting to sound Muslim, so I finally asked if he would put a name on the god he believed in. He looked at his friend and I asked him if the name of his god was Allah. They both nodded yes. Up to this point, Steve had been pretty silent. When we started to talk about Islam, he started to speak up. It was obvious that he hadn’t been in the states too long, because his english was not very good.
One thing you need to know when witnessing to Muslims is that they usually are very passionate about what they believe. So don’t be surprised if they get offended. The best way to get around this, however, is to speak to their conscience. Muslims believe in the Law of Moses, so you can walk them through the Ten Commandments to avoid an argument. That’s what I did that night.
The way I made that transition was by asking Steve if he believed himself to be a good person. Of course, he said, “yes”. A Muslim will typically say this because he believes that it is his good works that will get him into Paradise. So, I took him through the Law of Moses and he failed miserably. But, when we got to Judgment Day, he said he was sure that his god would have mercy on him. He believed that his good works outweighed his bad. I could tell that he wasn’t going to budge, so I turned to Ahmed.
The faith that Ahmed had seemed a little shaky. Remember I said that his “Heaven” answer was surprising? Well, Muslims call it Paradise, so that gave me a clue that he wasn’t really sure what he believed. I spent a few minutes showing him the validity of the Scriptures(OT and NT). I gave him several biblical prophecy fulfillments and asked him if he knew any from the Koran. He was unable to give me one. It is very important to go here with Muslims. They have been taught that the Scriptures have been tampered with. It’s not that hard to prove otherwise, and if you study up, you can do this without taking too much time.
By the end of the conversation, Ahmed acted like he wasn’t buying it. But, I’m not so sure about that. I believe the Holy Spirit was working on him. He heard the entire gospel and that’s all I can really do. I don’t save people. God does. Pray for Ahmed and “Steve”.
From those two, I walked up to a young man named David. I really enjoyed David. I approached him with a gospel tract and asked him if he could help me with a project. When I asked him what he believed was out there after he died, he said that he had never really thought about it. Though I hear it often, I never buy that one. Who hasn’t thought about eternity? The truth was that he didn’t really want to think about it, because of the fear that he might not go to Heaven. Normally, I would call him out on that, but his necklace caught my eye.
He had a really long necklace with a crucifix on the end of it. I asked him what the man on that cross meant to him. He said, “Ah man. He’s everything to me.” So I asked him if he believed the things that that Man taught. He said yes. Well, from there, I explained to him that Jesus taught about Heaven and Hell and that everyone would have to stand before God one day.
I then asked him the question, “David, if you were to leave the mall tonight and die in a car accident, are you 100% sure you would go to Heaven?” His answer was that he was pretty sure. So I asked him why? He said he had done alot of good things and that he was a good person. So, I told him about the standard of good that God has given us, the Ten Commandments.
I asked him, “David, have you ever told a lie?” He said, “Yes”. I asked him what that would make him. He said, “A liar”. From there I showed him some scriptures on how serious lying is to God. If you have read any of my previous witnessing encounters, you know where I went from here. I showed him that if you’ve stolen anything, you’re a thief; if you’ve looked with lust, God sees you as an adulterer; if you’ve hated someone, you’re a murderer; and if you’ve taken God’s name in vain, you have committed blasphemy. He admitted to all of these things, yet I still didn’t see a whole lot of conviction. But, I asked him anyway, “David, you have admitted to me that you are a lying, thieving, blasphemous, murderous, adulterer at heart. If God were to judge you today, would he say innocent or guilty?” David actually felt pretty sure that God would find him innocent.
He seemed like a nice young man and he didn’t seem to think that his sin was that serious. But, the next question I asked him opened his eyes. Rather, the Holy Spirit opened his eyes. I asked him, “David, have you always honored your mother and father?” He said, “Yes”. So, I said, “David, do you realized how dishonoring it is to your parents when you lie, steal and lust?” For whatever reason, his countenance changed tremendously at this point. It was like a light bulb went off. He said, “Wow, I never thought of it that way?” I said, “David, I’ve now shown you that you have broken six out of the Ten Commandments. That’s not good is it? But what’s worse is that the Bible says if you have broken one of God’s laws, you are guilty of breaking them all.”
From there, I explained to him how serious our sin is to God. I told him how it was our sins that put Jesus on the cross. I explained to him that the Man that meant everything to him, was nailed to a cross because of him. You could see the Holy Spirit piercing David’s heart. The beautiful thing about this was the certainty that I was not piercing his heart. I was not convicting him. God was. It looked like he was about to cry. I asked him how he felt about all that he had done to break the heart of God. He said, “I feel horrible”.
Now, at this point in a conversation, my flesh always wants to comfort him and make him feel better. But, I had better not do that. It would be a sin against God to do that. He’s not alright. God is dealing with him and he has some business to take care of. When I saw that he was broken, I asked him how old he was. He was twenty-five. So, I said, “David, do you realize that you have walked this planet for twenty-five years, and now, on this ninth day of April, 2009, you have finally found out that if you were to die tonight you would go straight to Hell?” He didn’t respond. I said, “David, you just found out the worst news of your life. But, what if I told you that I could also give you the best news of your life?” I could see that he was dying to know that that was.
In many of my witnessing conversations, I use the analogy of being convicted of robbing a bank. The jury is in and you are guilty. The judge sentences you to life in prison or a 1 million dollar fine. So, I used this with David. I asked him, “David, do you have a million dollars?” “No”, he said. “Well, then how are you going to have to pay for your crime?” David knew he would have to do the time. “That’s right, David. And the only way out is if someone stepped in and paid your fine.” So I explained to him that when you are found guilty in God’s courtroom, the only way you can pay for your sin is an eternity in Hell. I said, “But David, do you realize that you could spend billions of years in Hell and never pay for a single sin? There is absolutely nothing that you could ever do to atone for your sin.” I then said to him, “David, do you realize that Jesus has already paid your fine? Right before you are cast into Hell, He stood up and said, “No, that one is mine. I’ve paid his fine, let him go!” I said, “David, Jesus paid your fine. He took your punishment on the cross. All your sin was laid on His back and yet His sacrifice can do nothing for you if you do not repent and trust in Him. You need to turn from your sins. You need to realize that your good works will not save you on the day of wrath. Only the blood of Jesus can wash your sins away.”
I then went on to explain, more thoroughly, why Jesus died on the cross; what this act of love accomplished and how He rose from the grave. When I go through this with a lost person, I always get him to repeat what I told him about repentance and faith. You could see that he really got it. I believe that David has gotten right with God since our conversation. I gave him a “One Heartbeat Away” book and we parted ways. Beloved, please pray that David gets saved if he hasn’t already. If he has, pray that he would grow in his faith.
I hope you have been challenged by these witnessing encounters. I ask that you would please pray for these individuals.
In Christian love,
Adam Tennant
Posted by akatennant 
