Everyday Evangelism - "Go where the fish are biting"

     When I was little, my family used to go fishing once in a while. I don't remember much about it, but I didn't catch my first fish until I was 7 or 8. I do remember trying to catch crabs with a bucket and net.
People in the Bible days, in particular, Peter, John and James went fishing much more often than I ever did, because they did it for a living. There were times when they would go out and catch nothing. No fish were biting. Maybe the fish were there but weren't hungry? Or maybe the fish caught onto the tricks of the fishermen and weren't going to fall for them again! Whatever the reason was, these fishermen were unsuccessful at times with their fishing. Of course, one of those times, Jesus came to the rescue and caused many fish to come into the fishermen's nets, that the fishermen were in awe because of what had just happened to them.
    Jesus said "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men". If we are following Jesus, part of the process is learning how to fish for men. As we grow spiritually, we will find ourselves growing in the area of evangelism and reaching people with the Gospel.
   But what happens when we go out to evangelize and the 'fish' aren't biting? What should we do if we are at a place where there are a lot of people, but they seem to understand that you are passing out tracts and they don't want any? We experience this a lot, but not always, on Park Avenue. The groups of people who stroll down Park Avenue are varied. There are some poorer sections of the town on the other side of the railroad tracks. But almost everyone strolling on Park Avenue is either a middle-aged to older woman, an older couple, rich college kids, or people that are from another country altogether. Most of the people kindly reject the tracts. Some have been irritated because of my offer of a tract. I've gotten lectures from people about why I shouldn't be doing what I am doing. I have also had some people who were professing Christians who were happy about what I am doing. So there is a mixture, but mostly an indifferent response. So, are the fish biting here? Not so much. Once in a while I get a good bite though. I have had some good conversations about the Gospel with a few people here and there. I have even been able to meet people and make friends there. So what is my point?
   I don't see much fish activity there. I have two options. I can keep going there and eventually I will probably get a good catch, or, I can look for another place to go that might have more people who will be open to the Gospel. Waterford Lakes was a wonderful place to talk to people about the Gospel. In the small amount of time I was there, I had more conversations with people open to the Gospel than anywhere else I think. I could risk getting caught again and maybe they would never let me go back there ever again. Or I could end up in jail. Then I could evangelize the people in the jail cells around me.
   Jail ministry. That sounds mysterious, but I am intrigued by the thought of it. On an easier scale, maybe we could evangelize juvenile delinquent places. In a town where I live, you would think that there would be some place where the fish are biting. Perhaps it is just in a store parking lot south of where I live (people are more open to the Gospel south of here). Maybe we need to look for quality, not quantity. If any of my readers have places where they know the fish are biting, please post them here. I would love to find where those places are.
"Getting into one of the boats, the one which belonged to Simon, he asked him to put out a little from the shore. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. ⁴ And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ⁽“Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵ And Simon replied, “Master, ^(F)we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” ⁶ And after they let down the nets, ^(G)they enclosed a huge number of fish, and^(H)their nets were breaking. ⁷ They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. ^(I)And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, ^(J)“Go away from me, for ^(K)I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
Luke 5:3-8

Everyday Evangelism - The Gospel To All Nations

I was listening to a message this morning and reminded of the verse Acts 1:8, where Jesus says that we will receive power from on High, and how we would be witnesses to the uttermost parts of the earth. 
But you will receive power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you will be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
And in Matthew 24:24, it says "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
  We think of missions as going to a remote part of the earth to preach the Gospel or live as a missionary. That is commendable to do. But, there are some things we should realize also. There are people in America who have never heard the Gospel. There are people in America that have heard a false Gospel. I am concerned that we as the church believe that people in America have heard the Gospel over and over again. For the most part, that is not true. 
    There are many churches that just plainly don't teach the Gospel. If they are acquainted with the Gospel, they don't think it is important enough to tell it to their congregations. I know that as I was growing up, I went to several different churches, but failed to hear whatever the Gospel was in any of them. I am aware also, that there are churches that are doing the job right, so I don't want to make it sound like I am saying that all churches aren't preaching the Gospel message. Some are. Many aren't.
   But that is not the intention of what I want to write about here. I was thinking about the fact that the Gospel message will spread to the ends of the earth, and really has gone far already. There are many countries now that have the Gospel that didn't before. There are still many that haven't been reached yet, as well. 
   Do we have to go to a foreign country though, to preach the Gospel? I believe we have an open door to the nations right here in America! I have talked with people from all over the world in store parking lots and other places. In our church meeting today, we had a family from India! I love the diversity that is in our culture today. I have seen several people from Korea. I talked with a man from Egypt in a store parking lot one day. I've talked with several people from Jamaica as well. We now have friends from Romania, and met a couple where the man was from Yugoslavia and the wife was from Russia. 
   This should be a good incentive for us to get out and evangelize. It would be good if we could each learn a foreign language. I was reminded of this when a lady from Thailand popped into a prayer meeting we were having. She had some urgent needs and asked for prayer. As she was trying to explain things to us, I realized that there was some language barrier problems. If only I could speak Thai! But I couldn't. I am wondering if this lady really understood the Gospel as well. At first, it seemed like she was on the same page, but some things she was saying seemed to indicate that she might have been trying to please God with her works. 
   There is a verse in Revelation that talks about people from every tribe and tongue being in heaven worshiping God. I find that interesting because it seems like some places aren't hearing the Gospel yet. With technology, I think we can take advantage of the Internet as well in getting the Gospel out to many people in foreign places. If you are reading this, and you are in a country that is not in the USA, you can be thankful to God for the technology available in order to transmit this blog page to you. I'm sure the day will come when preaching the Gospel on the Internet will be banned, but it is not today, so we need to take advantage of using it to that end, at least while there is time.

Everyday Evangelism - Is Mormonism the Same Gospel as the Bible Teaches?

In my evangelism activities, I have run into Mormons occasionally. I do not look at Mormons as enemies of mine, per se, but I know that they have had deception over them. Their belief system, if understood by the Mormon properly, goes against the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You will not find this understanding though, if your conversation with a Mormon is brief. It is not until you are in a deeper conversation with them, that you can see the difference in the two belief systems.
    I have had encounters with Mormons, where they claim that the Gospel that Joseph Smith had been given, is the same one as presented in the Bible. They say they believe in the same Gospel that Christians believe in. But, if that is so, then why would a Mormon believe that salvation can only be found through the Mormon church?
  When talking with a couple of different ones, they assure me that they see their need for a Savior, and really do seem to understand the Gospel. They understand that they have sinned against a holy God, and that Jesus provided the sacrifice that was necessary for our salvation. I guess the problem seems to come after that. If we continue to talk about the Bible and salvation, it becomes apparent at some point that we are responsible for doing works that are supposed to supplement our salvation through the Cross. That is probably where the dividing line is. So, do they truly believe that they have to supplement their salvation by doing good works? I think that is exactly what they believe in. Not only that, they are quick to tell you that 'Faith without works is dead'. So, if that is a true belief of theirs, it does differ from the Gospel that is presented in the pages of the Bible.
  For by grace are you saved through faith, it is a gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.
  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.
  If righteousness comes by the Law, then Christ died in vain.
I should list all the verses that have to do with Christ dying for our sins. If I have time, I will do that.
Here is another thought: If Jesus and Lucifer were brothers, then the Bible must be wrong when it says that 'For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life." It would stand to reason then, that if Jesus and Lucifer were brothers,  then God would be their Father? If God is Jesus' Father, and Lucifer is Jesus' brother, wouldn't that make the devil one of God's sons too? But wait, the verse also says that God gave His only Son. He only has one Son, not two. So there is a contradiction on both counts.
   For those of you looking, there is some good info at CARM on dealing with Mormons. Please give feedback if interested in this subject.
 

Prayer Updates- April 5th, 2012 - Facebook Evangelism Reaches Thousands

Prayer Updates- April 5th, 2012 - Facebook Evangelism Reaches Thousands

The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it. Psalm 68:11


God is using Facebook to reach many people around the world with the Gospel.

Gospel Story by Colors Pull-out Ink Pen from CTA

Many years ago, I used to have a nut that had a pull out ribbon inside containing the 5 colors used in telling the Gospel story. The colors were in this order. I used to go around with my little nut and ask kids if they ever heard a nut that could tell a story, then I would teach them the Gospel. I did give an invitation at the end, and I would not do that anymore, but I think that this is a good visual to use with children. I would like to find or make items using the colors that tell the Gospel story. Please send any ideas or experiences in the box for comments. If you want to email me, send an email to RUgood@mail.com   Thanks.



              

Everyday Evangelism - Card Trick with Gospel Message

This card trick (I don't like the word 'trick' but I don't know how else to describe it) is a great visual for presenting the message of the Gospel. I have used it in children's ministry classes and it can be used anywhere you have a table to put the cards on. I would imagine you could even use UNO cards or any type of cards that have the set up of 4 suites and the numbering of a regular card deck (52 cards). I do have the instructions for this and I will not post them here, but I can tell you where you can get the instructions for this if you email me. Also, you can ask a number of different questions at the end. For example, you can ask, "Who is the only person who ever lived that rose from the dead?" or " Who is the only person who ever lived that never broke any of the 10 Commandments during His lifetime?". Here is the link to the video on Youtube: Card Trick with Gospel Message
Enjoy this and share it with others. You can share it with people on Face Book or send it by email to your friends. email me:RUgood@mail.com