I am continually amazed at how God is working in His sovereign power to draw people to Himself.

The encounter I had last night was a CLASSIC example.

I had a meeting with someone at 6pm in a certain location. Without going into all the details, I got the meeting place completely wrong.  I sent him a text and we agree to meet the next day in the right location.

I hadn’t given the gospel to anyone that day so I looked around. I wanted to make the most of the time I had wasted getting the appointment wrong.

Outside Burger King on Lincoln Road in Henderson Auckland was an Indian having a smoke.

So, I got out of my car and walked towards Him, and broke the ice in the usual way. After getting eye contact I said…

“Hi, can ask you a question?”

“Sure!”

“What’s the world’s best selling book?”

“Um…I don’t know”

“It’s the bible. Do you know how old that book is?”

“Errr…No.”

“It’s cover’s 4000 years of history, and we have just made a video which summarises the whole book in 11 minutes.”

“No way!”

“Yep. Here, it’s on my iphone.”

He began watching the video, ear phones in. After the law was presented on the presentation, I stopped it, and asked him the question about lying, thieving and murdering.

Here’s an interesting thing that I am discovering more often. When I asked him if he’d ever stolen anything he replied “No”.

I listed a few things and he still said “No”

I couldn’t believe it.

Then I asked this question “Have you ever downloaded something off the internet that you shouldn’t have?”

“Yes!”

It seems most young people are doing this.

So, if you find yourself going through “the Law” with someone and they are struggling to admit they have ever stolen something, try this question.

It works!

Anyway, we got through the rest of the presentation, and I asked him the final question.

“If everything you have just seen here is true, where would you go?”

“Hell.”

This is where it got really interesting.

I took him through an over view of the follow up booklet called “How to Be Sure Of Going To Heaven When You Die”

He wanted to study this before making decision.

I am thrilled about this response because I think it’s best people make informed thoughtful decisions.

Then he told me his journey.

He and his whole family came from India a year ago.

Recently, he went to the trouble of finding a Bible and started to read it.

“What prompted you to do that” I asked.

“I don’t know” he said “I just had this strong desire in me to find out about Jesus”

“You mean, no one invited you to do this?”

“No.”

“Are all your family Hindu?”

“Yes”

“Are there any Christians in your family”

“No”

“Not even back in India?”

“No”

“Any where?”

“No”

“Do you have any Christian friends?”

“No”

“Ever watched Christian TV or listened to Christian radio?”

“No”

“Every looked at anything on the internet about Jesus?”

“No”

“So how come Jesus has picked you out from all your family to find out about Him?”

“I don’t know. But I am so glad you came along tonight. This is just what I needed to hear. Can we keep in touch?”

We then proceeded to exchange cell phone numbers.

You know what? I am so glad we have the follow up booklet “HOW TO BE SURE OF GOING TO HEAVEN WHEN WE DIE’

In my opinion, it’s an incredible little booklet to introduce people like “RC” (that’s his nick name) to the whole concept of Christianity.

Recently I was emailed from someone in the states – a seasoned, mature, balanced, full on Christian. He wanted to know where he could get more of these booklets because, in his words, “This is the best little booklet I have ever seen to explain what Christianity is all about”

Here’s a suggestion? Why don’t you get some of these booklets, and put them into letter boxes in your neighbourhood?

Before the booklet was written, I was SO frustrated that I couldn’t find a LITTLE booklet anywhere which explained conceptually how Christianity works in simple language, and with easy to follow logic.

In my opinion, and coming to this conclusion after reaching thousands of non-Christians one on one, we in the Church make a great mistake.

We completely UNDERESTIMATE how much non-Christians want to know.

Sadly, much of our literature and hand outs are intellectually insulting, trivialising our faith.

OR, at the other extreme, we put out literature which is way too complicated, and full of Christian jargon.

It’s hard to find a balance, but I think this little booklet achieves this balance.

Please pray for RC.  I am planning on taking him to a good church tomorrow which has an Indian pastor.

LESSON FROM THIS ENCOUNTER?

1) God is working all the time in the hearts of non-Christians to draw them to himself. This is why it’s critical to obey Jesus by going with the gospel. We are a vital part of God’s plan! God, as it were, partners with us to save people. Our bit is simply to present the gospel. He does all the hard stuff like sovereignly working in the hearts before we get there, drawing them, and eventually convicting them of the truth in the gospel we present, and eventually saving them.

2) Extreme Calvinists take this too far, and there are many ‘out there’ who think like this. They would argue RC would have been eventually saved without me getting to him with the gospel.  They sit in their churches disobedient to the Great Commission because they believe God will sovereignly save all His elect without us going to them with the gospel. It’s a complete lie to believe we don’t have to go to all people with the gospel.  How the inter play between our going with the gospel and God’s sovereignty works with the elect, we’ll never really know this side of death. All I know is this – if Jesus commanded us to go to the lost with the gospel, there must have been a good reason. God draws the elect, but it’s up to us to inform them who it is who is drawing them and what the drawing is all about (Romans 10:13-15). Who are we to argue with God and say we are not going? He is omniscient and we are not. End of story. If you want to read about the interplay between the sovereignty of God and the free will of man, click here.

2) Be deliberate about evangelism. Decide to go and reach someone. Then actually go and do it.

3) Have all your equipment ready. iphone cued, ready, and fully charged, volume settings right, follow up booklets in your pocket etc.

4) Ask good questions at the end. Often this “post presentation” interview can reveal some amazing things about people and how  God is working, which in turns will help us help them on their journey. For example, right at the end, RC told me he thought all religions led to the same God i.e. universalism. We talked about this and I was able to clarify for him that Jesus was the one and only true God and that no one could get to God except through Jesus (John 14:6).

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