Have you ever been in a situation with another person and they just flat out tell you they don't believe in God? Or they believe in God, just not in Jesus Christ...they don't believe in his deity or in the fact that he even existed? Or what about when someone tells you that they are going to attempt to talk to God and Satan and who ever answers them they will believe in? What do you do with such a person? Pray....sure you will pray....but what will you say? How will you help direct them from where they are to a where they can atleast see the direction they need to be? Please take some time with this one...I'm looking for answers from all of you in this situation...an idividuals eternity is at stake...can we come together and offer some Spirit led advice and encouragment on this one? This man's name is Bill...say a prayer for him before post your response...heck post a response just to let me know your praying for this guy. Until then...goodnight!
Way of the Pastor,
Joe
Don't say anything - this is a quick to listen, slow to speak opportunity.
ReplyDeleteListen a lot; Ask clarifying questions (not confrontational questions)and then listen some more. Find out how, where, when, why, who, how much, to what extent, how often.
Don't let them get defensive. (And don't get defensive yourself) Be very respectful and keep listening. Listen unto them as you would want them to listen unto you.
Slowly, they will wear themself out. If you've properly modeled excellent listening and respect, they'll start to ask you questions, and you'll have an opportunity for honest (not persuasive) dialouge.
Maybe my own testimony can help, I wasn't an atheist but I had some pretty entrenched ideas about Jesus. The guy who started the chain of events that led me to Jesus came up to me at work, we were pizza delivery guys, and started asking me if I knew about Jesus. I drove home after my next delivery and arrived with a KJ Bible and began to explain reincarnation from the scriptures (that should let you know how screwed up I was). He did the best thing he could - he went home and prayed his ass off. Not long after an evangelist from the other side of the country (I met him later on and was blown away when we connected the dots) came into the pizza place and when he saw me God sent him back to his hotel room to pray for me (seems counter-intuitive for an evangelist but this guy knows how to obey God).
ReplyDeleteWithin a week I mustered up the courage to ask out this girl who worked with my buddy at a local video store - she was a Christian. She invited me over (of course my heathen mind said 'score!') and began sharing Jesus with me. I pretty much ignored her words because of two things, one I was really liking this girl and two I figured I could find a way to adjust her thinking about Jesus.
She simply invited me to lots of their youth events and more significantly they lived the love of Christ, towards me and others. That was as compelling as any words. I sort of sat on the outside at a few of these events, one was a car wash and I met a guy who knew me from highschool. But mostly I just watched.
Then she calls me up and asks if I can help drive a bunch of them to a youth rally in New Brunswick, she told me those events I was at were fundraisers so my entrance fee was taken care of and I think they offered me some gas money. Eventually I agreed, loaded up my car with a few Christians and headed up to this rally.
The music was ok, it was a pentecostal rally so it was pretty energetic. But the speaker was an enigma. Sam Rifcoco (sp?), he was asian from Texas so his accent did not match his face. That was kinda cool and he was definitely a big personality. But he began to speak against everything I believed in. I just got madder and madder. At the end he had an altar call and I was ready to walk out but suddenly found myself in the front oblivious to the hundreds of youth all around me. I fell on my face before God and that is where it started.
I am convinced that I got to that point, probably within a month of the first guy witnessing to me, because he knew enough to not argue and simply pray. We became good friends after my conversion and I came to know him as an incredibly godly man.
One of my biggest complaints about the way evangelism is done in the evangelical church is that we focus more on numbers and salvations and less on obedience, listening to the Spirit and discipling. When I have an opportuntiy to witness I make myself willing to simply water and really rejoice when I find myself harvesting where others have faithfully watered and planted and tilled.