There are several lessons Jesus our Lord reminded me on my trip to Paraguay. They are not lessons specific to the trip, but rather, they are lessons that God taught me on this trip which apply to all Christians, wherever we are living.
Lesson #1- God is already at work in saving people, our role is to join Him. Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) In John 4 Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” God the Father is our God “who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:4 ESV) If we have God’s heart for people who are lost without Christ, then we will pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10)
Let us not forget that God is already at work in people’s lives! When we talk to people who do not know Christ, we need to remember that God has already been preparing their heart. For a person to come to Christ, it usually takes seven to ten instances of hearing the gospel message before the person is ready to surrender. In Paraguay, God opened my eyes to this truth: any person I meet or talk to during the day is someone whom God has prepared for me to meet. Philemon 6 NIV reads, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith , so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Jesus.”
Stan Guthrie and Jerry Root echo this truth in their book The Sacrament of Evangelism: “When we share the good news, we do not, to borrow an expression, ‘take Christ’ to anyone. Remember, He (God) is already there. The sacrament of evangelism doesn’t “do anything” to God–it does something to us. The converse [of Philemon 6] seems to be that we will miss out on much in our Christian experience if we neglect to share Christ with others.” (Guthrie and Root use the word “sacrament” to describe the endeavor of evangelism, in which God is already present and working.)
Lesson #2- Anybody Can Do This! A personal testimony is a simple way to open the door to more spiritual conversation. Before the trip, I was challenged to write up a 30 second testimony:
“Earlier in my life I was unsure about whether I would go to heaven or hell. I would try to avoid sin, but I knew I was guilty. Then someone told me that Jesus loves me, and he still forgives me! I learned Jesus came to earth, died on the cross, and rose again. He did this for me, a sinner. Now I know that I am completely forgiven, and I am in God’s family. Even though I still struggle with worry and perfectionism, I have more assurance, and I can go to Jesus every day for hope and strength. What’s your story?”
Tim Webster, the leader of our team wrote: There was a time in my life when I was innocent in the eyes of the world but guilty before God. But Jesus forgave me, and I began to follow him. Ever since then, my life has had meaning and purpose. What’s your story?”
The point of the personal testimony is to choose two words that describe your life before Christ, as well as two words that describe your life after Christ. The gospel facts are in the middle: Jesus dying for your sins and rising again. The question at the end serves to give the person you are talking with an opportunity to respond. Many times we would just listen for a few minutes. If the person gave a short answer, such as, “I go to the Catholic church,” then we would ask if we could share the three circles diagram:
The benefit of this diagram is that you can draw it on a small piece of paper and leave it with the person you are talking to. You can also add verses to your explanation if you want. After explaining, we would ask, “Would you say you are close to God, or far from God?”
Lesson 3: A Hard Barrier- Salvation is a gift, not simply “being good” or being in a church.
Surrendering to Jesus is not about religion, prayer, confessing to a priest, or giving money to the church. Jesus asks people to trust and surrender to Him: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20) Personally, I was AMAZED how many people said they did not know whether they would be in heaven or hell if they died today! I would tell them that the Bible says that we can have assurance (1 John 5:11-12). If we sensed an opening from the Holy Spirit, we would ask, “Do you want to pray to ask Jesus to save you and live in you so you can follow him?” Because of God’s power and grace, many people did pray to receive Christ, asking forgiveness for their sins and expressing their desire to follow Him. But sadly, many people were hung up on the idea that they had to be “good enough” or “better” than other people. We talked with one older woman for about forty minutes. She said she attended church regularly and prayed every day. When I told her that the Bible emphasizes that salvation is a gift which we do not deserve, her response was, “But you have to be worthy of the gift.” I will remember to pray for this woman regularly. Remember, God is at work, and He wants us to join Him in the harvest field!