They Continue To Respond

MINISTRY PROFESSIONS OF FAITH

SEPT 18 COURT SQUARE 23
SEPT 19 JAMES MADISON 33
SEPT 20 CROSS LIGHT 06

God continues to move in a very special way as we share His gospel. His Word will not return void, and He is always faithful to accomplish His purposes as we simply open our mouth and share.

How blessed I am to have this job! God, fill me with your love, and help me to understand how precious each soul I share with is to you! More souls, more love, more power! Amen!

DOWNTOWN

Thanks to Rob, Johan, and Karen for helping to share the gospel this past week. Johan actually sat downtown for most of the day, right next to me. What did he do? He prayed the entire time.

Aliesha gave us the standard response to going to Heaven, "I hope so, I am a good person." How good do you have to be to get into Heaven? Perfect. Good luck! There's a better way...

After I shared the law with her, Aliesha realized that she was not good in the eyes of the Lord. What could she do now to go to Heaven? You'll never guess her response...

"Do good."

Do good, be good, I am good. This is the condition of most people. The standard here is perfection.

Or...

You can put your trust in Jesus. I am thankful for that, aren't you? Aliesha decided trusting Jesus made a whole lot more sense...

"HE SAVED ME AND SHOWED ME THAT I CAN TRUST IN HIM."

Teresa was really excited to see me. Apparently, I had shared with her several years ago. She came over to tell me how much her life had changed and how she was really on fire for the Lord.

Sandy actually said 'no' to the bracelet when she walked by the first time. She came back again and asked for a bracelet. This is not a common occurrence.

Sandy was 50% sure of Heaven because "I believe." Make sure you unpack this by asking another question...

"Great. What specifically do you believe Sandy?"

"I believe that God exists and that the bible is true."

This is certainly commendable, but in no way indicates that she has placed her faith in the redemptive work of God the Son. So, I shared the gospel with Sandy.

After sharing the law (liar, thief, adulterer, murderer, blasphemer), Sandy admitted to having done all those things. Her next answered surprised me, when I asked her if she would be innocent or guilty...

"Innocent."

So, let's ask Sandy why she would be innocent...

"Because He forgives."

This is good, but remember, her initial answer of only being 50% and not mentioning Christ was a red flag. So, ask again...

"Why does He forgive?"

"Because He died for me."

Again, this is good, but we still have not gotten to the disconnect of her initial answer. So, I asked the next question and got to the bottom of the problem...

"Is that enough?"

"No, I also have to be good."

Bingo. Here we are again..."Be good, do good, I am good, in fact, let's add our good to the finished work of Christ..."

This was the root of Sandy's problem. She was not completely trusting the atoning work of Christ as the basis of her forgiveness. She was adding her good to the mix.

Thankfully, Sandy really seemed to get the gospel truth as I shared the rest of the message with her. She wanted to place all of her trust in Christ alone...

"HE SAVED ME. (MY HEART FEELS) VERY GOOD."

What was keeping Brandy and Jeff from being 100% sure of going to Heaven?

Brandy..."I have to obey the law."

Jeff..."I have to follow the law."

Romans 3:19,20 clearly states that the purpose of the law is to make us guilty before God. It also says there is no way we can be justified with God on the basis of the law.

The law is a mirror. It simply reveals our dirty condition in the eyes of God. Too many people are taking the mirror off the wall and trying to clean themselves with it!

That is not the purpose of the law! The law is our schoolmaster, to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. (Galatians 3:24)

Thankfully, Brandy and Jeff understood the truth, and only wanted to trust in Christ alone...

Brandy: "HE SAVED ME. (MY HEART FEELS) SECURE."

Jeff: "HE CLEANSED MY SINS AND SECURED A PLACE IN HEAVEN FOR ME. (MY HEART FEELS) LIGHTER AND HAPPY."

Joseph was 99% sure. He said, "I believe and I'm good."

There's that ole culprit again, our own righteousness. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

So, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and said, "Is it your belief, your goodness, or both?"

"Both."

This is what was keeping Joseph from being 100% sure. Not his sin, but his goodness... the goodness that he was trusting in.

After sharing the message with him, Joseph wanted to place all of his trust in Christ alone...

"HE JUST SAVED ME."

Once Joseph understood the message and was set free, the Lord afflicted his new son with a really bad case of the giggles...

Karz said that I had spoken to him five years ago. Karz was 70% sure of going to Heaven because...

"I am loyal and faithful."

Sounds like more 'good stuff' to me.

I explained that those were noble qualities to have, but that we should not trust in them to have eternal life. What would a judge say to a criminal who made that claim as his defense?

Karz understood, and wanted to trust in Christ alone...

"HE SAVED ME. (MY HEART FEELS) PURENESS."

Remember, Acts 15:9 says that the Lord will purify the heart by faith.

Jessica's initial answer was very refreshing...

"I know where I am going, and it's not Heaven."

Jessica readily understood her sin before God. She listened intently as I shared grace and what God had done for her in Christ.

Jessica was ready to place her faith in Jesus...

"HE CLEANED ME AND GAVE ME ETERNAL LIFE. (MY HEART FEELS) JOYFUL."

Jessica sent me a text message telling me how much it meant to her as she has been going through a lot recently.

I first met Suzanne about a month ago. One of my homeless friends Tina, brought Suzanne who is also homeless, over to talk with me. Long story short...

Suzanne shared some deep hurts of the past with me and began sobbing.

She wanted to trust Christ as her Savior that day.

Suzanne has come back almost every week to tell me how she is getting along. She has had some struggles, but this time she was grinning ear to ear and was singing out loud.

She told me she was really happy and that she was still 100% sure because she was...

"TRUSTING GOD."

Suzanne is on the left in the picture. Karen is on the right. Karen led five to Christ this day.

Here is Rob and Johan. Johan is on the right with his head down praying. Rob was able to lead two to Christ in the short time he was downtown.

ON TO J.M.U.

Aubrey was 95% sure of going to Heaven because, "I trust Him."

So, I asked, "What do you trust Him for?"

Aubrey didn't know. Many people say, "I trust Him that He created me, that He is with me, that He guides me..."

All these things are wonderful, but they are not the basis of our salvation. What is the basis of our salvation?

The sacrificial, substitutionary death and resurrection of Christ on our behalf.

We use a courtroom illustration to really bring to life what this means legally to the person with whom we are sharing. Aubrey understood exactly what Christ had done for her and thus had something tangible to place her trust in...

"HE FORGAVE ME. I FEEL 100%. I CAN PUT MY TRUST IN HIM."

Meisha initially told me, "I'm good." After understanding she was a guilty criminal in God's courtroom, she said...

"I'll admit to my wrong. I'll try to fix it."

What do all these answers have in common? (I made it easy on you.)

So, I asked her...

"Who is the person mentioned in your answers?"

"Me."

"Who are you trusting?"

"Me."

"God will save you, if you transfer your trust from you to Him."

Meisha got the point and wanted to trust in God alone...

"HE SAVED ME."

I had spoken to Ali last year with his girlfriend. He came back to say hi. Like the others, Ali was trusting in his goodness.

I really did not expect him to pray with me, because of his religious background. However, he understood the gospel and wanted to trust in Christ alone...

"GOD FORGAVE ME. I TRUST IN HIM."

Brittany told me she was 'a good person'. She also told me she was Jewish. Like Ali, I was not expecting her to respond to the invitation...

"HE PUT MY SINS BEHIND ME AND GAVE ME A FRESH START."

Reed told me yet again, "I'm a good person."

Not everyone responds well to being cut down. Charles Spurgeon said...

"If you would save souls, you must tell people a great deal of disagreeable truth."

In fact, the first two students I spoke to walked off as I was sharing the law with them...

Liar, thief, adulterer, murderer, and blasphemer.

Thankfully, Reed humbled himself under the mighty hand of God. He let go of his own righteousness, and instead, wanted to trust in God's righteousness alone.

When I gave the invitation, Reed's response really blessed me...

"I'D LOVE TO!"

We prayed, and Reed told me that God had just saved him. We prayed together before he left, and this was his prayer to God...

"THANKS FOR MAKING ME GOOD (GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS) AND COMING INTO MY HEART."

It was really a joy to lead Jared to Jesus. He told me that he suffers with seizures, and actually has surgery scheduled for this fall. When you hear this, you really desire for the person to come to Jesus.

Jared was part of a Christian campus ministry. He actually was going to a small fellowship group later on that evening.

Jared was a 'hope so' that he would go to Heaven. Listen to his reason...

"God helps me make the right decisions and I try to do what the bible says."

Here is a very sincere young man. He just needs someone to explain the value of Christ's death for him in the context of a courtroom so he can understand and place his trust in Him.

This humble soul really understood the truth and was eager to place his faith in Christ alone...

"HE SAVED ME. (MY HEART FEELS) WONDERFUL AND BLESSED."

Shane said he was a 'moral person'. More 'good stuff'...

The law showed him that he was not moral. Grace showed him that God had paid it all for him.

Shane wanted to place his faith in Christ alone...

"HE GAVE ME ETERNAL LIFE. (MY HEART FEELS) FANTASTIC."

We prayed together at the end, and this is what Shane told the Lord...

"I LOVE YOU. THANKS FOR ETERNAL LIFE."

Campus minister Rob Ricciuti helped me share with Alyssa and Emily. Yes, they were trusting in their goodness.

Both heard the gospel and wanted to trust in Christ. Both prayed and said that God had saved them. Their hearts felt 'grateful' and 'full'.

We prayed at the end and Emily said...

"THANKS FOR SAVING US AND GIVING US ETERNAL LIFE."

Mufasa was the last student with whom I shared. He initially had no idea why he would go to Heaven.

Mufasa had never heard of the ten commandments. This was a first for me.

Mufasa had never heard of Jesus. I am not making this up. I asked him several times, and he reiterated that he had never heard of Jesus. Even a picture of Christ brought no recollection.

Yes, Mufasa wanted to place his trust in Christ alone and prayed with me...

"HE OPENED ME AND SAVED ME. I FEEL GREAT."

AT THE CROSS

The Lord has been sending more people who are walking across the street. Most people look at me with the cross and just keep walking.

There are a select few who stop and agree to receive a bracelet.

Reisha was one of those. Yes, she thought she was 'a good person'. Yes, she wanted to trust in Christ alone and prayed with me...

Surprisingly, four young ladies stopped to get a bracelet from me. Yes, all of them talked about being good as the reason they would go to Heaven.

All heard the gospel and wanted to pray with me to receive Jesus. Liza and Megan prayed so I could hear them. Leona and Alissa were more reserved in their response. Leona took the picture.

Finally, I got to speak with Rob from Detroit. He is in the area working cleanup at the Merck Plant. Yes, Rob was hoping he would go to Heaven because he was good.

I was really blessed by Rob's responses as I shared. He really seemed to be grasping everything and saw that he was trusting himself instead of God. Rob eagerly prayed to trust Christ alone...

"HE GAVE ME FORGIVENESS. (MY HEART FEELS) LIGHTER AND FREE."

We prayed at the end and Rob said to the Lord...

"I GIVE MYSELF TO YOU."

Finally, as I was leaving the office last evening, I got to meet Mickey. He was working at a downtown restaurant and was on a break. Mickey was very respectful and accepted a bracelet. He wanted to hear the message.

Mickey wasn't even sure if Heaven existed. If it did, I asked him why he might get in...

"I do ROTC. I do nursing. I help people at the restaurant."

Even the people who don't believe are banking on the fact that they have been good enough.

When we got to the end, I gave Mickey the invitation. He told me that he had been raised in a cynical family and just was not able to believe right now. He did allow me to pray for him and was very nice to me.

Here is what he told me...

"OF ALL THE RELIGIOUS CONVERSATIONS I HAVE EVER HEARD, THAT ONE WAS THE MOST RESPECTFUL. THANK YOU. I WILL DEFINITELY THINK ABOUT THIS."

SOLI DEO GLORIA!