matthew 28:19 says "go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Nicole, a college freshman at Mississippi State University, shares her experiences of living missionally in her everyday life in her local town: coffee shops, bus stops, and everywhere in between. Read her story below:
As a started thinking about what to share with you I thought about how many times I’ve seen Christians gather to talk, write, and read about what the Bible tells us to actually do. I was once one of those people. I got so tired of sitting in my comfortable Christian circle and not putting any of what I talked about into practice. I’d like to tell you about how my idea of Christianity was completely shattered. There isn’t some complex formula and there’s no secret spiritual gift either. It started when I began obeying the Bible no matter the cost.
About a year and a half ago I wasn’t experiencing the power and presence of God daily, and I felt like my walk with Christ had hit a wall. Naturally, I started looking around at my Christian friends’ lives and seeing where mine wasn’t adding up. What I found was that my life looked exactly like theirs. So I shouldn’t worry right? Something still wasn’t sitting well with me as I read the word. I had this burning desire to walk deeper with Christ but I couldn’t figure out what was holding me back. Then I came across Philemon verse 6,
“I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith so that you have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.”
I knew my obedience in sharing the gospel was my problem. Something had to change. My walk with Christ has never been the same after I read that verse. I started thinking about why I didn’t tell people about Jesus. Why have I never shared this with anyone? Was it that I didn’t know where to begin? Probably. Or could it be that I was the problem all along? You see, my complete lack of obedience was a direct result of what I like to call spiritual selfishness or- if we’re being real here- hoarding the gospel. This is by far the most devastating aspect of the church today. I was keeping the gospel to myself.
I remember praying after reading that verse and begging God to forgive me for all of the years I hadn’t done anything with the gospel. I didn’t really know where to start after that so I simply prayed for God to give me boldness. The next day I went out and shared the gospel with a complete stranger. I sat down with this lady who I didn’t know and I asked her about Jesus. What I found was that when I stepped out in faith God was already waiting to back me up. I didn’t have any training. I didn’t have anyone go with me. I prayed and then went out. After that day I was hooked. I wanted more. I started sharing the gospel every day. I remember telling God, “I’ll do whatever you ask of me. I’ll speak to anyone you ask me to I just need you to help me.” This message is too great for me to do nothing about it. I started praying each night for whoever the Lord would lead me to witness to the next day. I found that through prayer my heart truly changed. God gave me a genuine love for the people he led me to and for those people I still have yet to meet. I want to hear their stories. I want to know about their families. I want to tell them about Jesus.
Every day I was experiencing a new side of God’s heart for the world because I was able to see people as He sees them. Through daily surrender and obedience God showed me that everyone is worthy of hearing the gospel. Let me repeat that: everyone is worthy of hearing the gospel. You read that and you probably agreed right? Does your daily life agree with that statement? Does your life show that you believe everyone is worthy of hearing the gospel? Through my reluctance to share for so many years, I was somehow rationalizing that a person God created was not worthy of hearing the message of hope simply because I didn’t feel like talking. Friend, I pray that God will show you that when we don’t share the gospel, our mindset is exactly that. Don’t say you love people if you won’t tell them about the One who loves them.
I would like to briefly share with you some of the awesome things that God did. One time someone overheard me sharing the gospel in Starbucks and asked me about how I witness. I shared with him that I sometimes buy someone a cup of coffee and simply ask them about their life and then I share with them about how Jesus changed my life. After our conversation, he handed me a $100 gift card and said “Use this to buy more coffee for more people. Keep doing what you’re doing.” Another time after witnessing to a Vietnamese man, I went to buy him a Bible and when I returned to give it to him he was gone. In the disappointment of that moment the Lord comforted me, “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11) This man who had just gotten to the US had heard the name of Jesus for the first time and for that, the opportunity was not wasted. A few minutes after that, a guy came up to me and said he saw the Vietnamese man leave the coffee shop and he could have stopped him but he didn’t. He told me, “I’m ashamed I didn’t do something.” Then he handed me $20 and said “Buy another Bible for someone else.” I went the next day to buy some Bibles and the worker at LifeWay asked me what I was doing and when I told him he handed me $10 and said, “Buy more Bibles.” No joke. God is awesome! After I bought the Bibles I asked the workers if we could pray over them. The manager asked me who the Bibles were going to and I said I don’t know that’s why we need to pray. After praying, the manager said, “What if I bought you a box of Bibles?” She bought me about 60 more Bibles. Sometimes when I think back on that day I laugh. God is so cool!
All of this happened while I was in high school. I’m in college now and sometimes I go to the atheist meetings on campus to get to know them. One day they asked me how I knew God was real. I thought back to days like the day I just described and I’m able to say with confidence that my God is real. I have personally experienced the power of God in my life and because of that it doesn’t matter what any atheist asks me. I know whom I have believed. (2 Timothy 1:12)
There were days of great spiritual victory but there were also lots of days where I felt alone and I was discouraged by believers more than anyone else. One time in particular, a man came up to me in Starbucks after overhearing me share the gospel. He told me that I shouldn’t be sharing the gospel. I asked him if he was a Christian and he said yes. “Yes, I’m a Christian.” I asked him if he read the Bible. He told me that witnessing was a pastor’s job and if I wanted to witness to someone I should take them to my pastor. I was really confused about why this guy who claimed to be a Christian would discourage me from sharing the gospel. We obviously didn’t see eye to eye. I left that day with a very heavy heart. A few days later I saw the same guy in Starbucks so I immediately wanted to avoid him. Sadly, I saw him walking toward me. What he said next blew me away. He said, “I wanted to apologize for what I told you the other day.” He said after thinking about the verses I told him he had an opportunity to buy a tank of gas for a stranger and felt led to share the gospel with him. He told me he didn’t know really how to share the gospel but he just started speaking. He was smiling as he told me the story. He then told me he had to go because He was meeting with his pastor to learn about personal evangelism. Revival was happening in this man’s heart! It’s possible for you too. It wasn’t anything I said to change this man’s heart, I let the word of God do that. Every day is a new adventure when you walk with Christ!
Friend, who is going to be in Heaven because YOU invited them there?
To financially support Nicole in her trip to South Korea or contact her, email her at NCL74@msstate.edu
next up: Audrey Masterson (my sister) shares her story of never having gone on a mission trip, but faithfully serving at her work place.
This is so SO good and true!! So many "Christians" today have unfortunately taken the backseat when it comes to sharing the Gospel with others. I strive to be active in my faith and sadly that has turned some Christians against me for being "too bold" in my faith. Great post!
ReplyDeletethere is no such thing as a lukewarm christian ;) keep being bold dear friend. to live is christ, to die is gain. we should EXPECT persecutions, because it means we are going something right. :)
Deleterenee
It doesn't matter if you're 8,18, or 80 years old, this is a timeless message straight from the Word of God. Praise God for waking you up and showing you the reality of His Word that is so separate from our country, culture, and world! Matthew 16:17 - Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, buy by my Father in heaven. - Continue to follow Jesus and share the "greatest news" in the world! Don't let anyone put out your fire for the Lord and look to Jesus.
ReplyDeleteit's so easy for us to listen to whispers of the world that quiet the passion when we get going. thanks of the reminder to not let anyone put out that fire, Steven!
Deleterenee young