The first day in Lakeland.
The first day we arrived at Lakeland around 3am, we set up our tent and immediately went to bed.
We woke up the next morning and asked around. What is there to do we thought to ourselves? Most of the people were gone, and we needed to find out where to go and what time the events started. Luckily there was a very nice couple from the UK. They came all the way from overseas just to see the revival. We talked to them for a good twenty minutes, they were very nice. We gave them a true and false conversion CD as they told us the directions and plans.
Not everything takes place on the Campground, most of the stuff takes place at Ignited
Church which is a few miles away, this is the Church the revival started. We got there and there was of course ton's of hypnotic dancing and not a single place to sit. As we walked in they were giving some sort of prosperity spiel and was about to take an offering, Ryan told me to place a million dollar bill in the collection envelopes. So I did.
There was no good places to sit so an usher asked if we would like to go to the overflow room, we agreed. It was quiet in there with only a few people and we could discuss everything that happened as they were speaking. They never did speak, it was mainly the same very repetitive worship music. While there this lady came up to us, she was very nice she was in the overflow room her baby was sleeping so she was in there. She had her baby, was pregnant and left her husband to come here all the way from North Carolina. We talked to her for a while then she started talking about how awesome it was. At this point I could not take it any longer, so I humbly told her that I did not want to make her thank that we approve of the services, and that we were genuinely concerned that they were in deed of not God. She said it was OK, and she was glad we were so kind about it and not causing commotions...
Now begins the first of many times we sat down with someone and walked them through the Law.
As soon as I said to her the words "Ten Commandments" she yelped with joy as she said Way of the Master!, Kirk Cameron!
You see the problem as we very quickly learned is that almost everyone there knows the Law. They know how to "Share the Gospel" but they never do. The problem is that they believed without hesitation everything we said. However they could not figure out that they worshiped a false God. We ran into this problem several times. It really places a damper on the conversation when they already know what your going to say, they agree with everything but they cannot apply it to their "god". How do you witness to people who agree with everything you say?
It was a huge problem and it was with almost everyone there. As you will see in later blogs...
Stay tuned for a report on the Lakeland "Evangelism Training" Session....
We woke up the next morning and asked around. What is there to do we thought to ourselves? Most of the people were gone, and we needed to find out where to go and what time the events started. Luckily there was a very nice couple from the UK. They came all the way from overseas just to see the revival. We talked to them for a good twenty minutes, they were very nice. We gave them a true and false conversion CD as they told us the directions and plans.
Not everything takes place on the Campground, most of the stuff takes place at Ignited
Church which is a few miles away, this is the Church the revival started. We got there and there was of course ton's of hypnotic dancing and not a single place to sit. As we walked in they were giving some sort of prosperity spiel and was about to take an offering, Ryan told me to place a million dollar bill in the collection envelopes. So I did.There was no good places to sit so an usher asked if we would like to go to the overflow room, we agreed. It was quiet in there with only a few people and we could discuss everything that happened as they were speaking. They never did speak, it was mainly the same very repetitive worship music. While there this lady came up to us, she was very nice she was in the overflow room her baby was sleeping so she was in there. She had her baby, was pregnant and left her husband to come here all the way from North Carolina. We talked to her for a while then she started talking about how awesome it was. At this point I could not take it any longer, so I humbly told her that I did not want to make her thank that we approve of the services, and that we were genuinely concerned that they were in deed of not God. She said it was OK, and she was glad we were so kind about it and not causing commotions...
Now begins the first of many times we sat down with someone and walked them through the Law.
As soon as I said to her the words "Ten Commandments" she yelped with joy as she said Way of the Master!, Kirk Cameron!
You see the problem as we very quickly learned is that almost everyone there knows the Law. They know how to "Share the Gospel" but they never do. The problem is that they believed without hesitation everything we said. However they could not figure out that they worshiped a false God. We ran into this problem several times. It really places a damper on the conversation when they already know what your going to say, they agree with everything but they cannot apply it to their "god". How do you witness to people who agree with everything you say?
It was a huge problem and it was with almost everyone there. As you will see in later blogs...
Stay tuned for a report on the Lakeland "Evangelism Training" Session....
posted by Marcus Pittman at
1:40 PM
2 Comments:
"How do you witness to people who agree with everything you say?"
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 says this:
1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.[a] 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
Here are some questions for you: What is God's power in this passage? Is it powerful enough to speak to people who are blinded by the God of this age? (2 Cor 4:4.. since only in Christ is it taken away (2 Cor 3:14). Is it powerful enough that John 14:12 could be commonplace? Is it powerful enough that we could take Matt 17:20; Luke 17:5 seriously?
In the New Testament Peter preaches a sermon after Pentecost.
He begins by saying:
22"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,[d] put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
... This is a biblical example of a sermon that did not begin with the 10 commandments. Instead, as Acts 4:9-11 shows even more clearly, sometimes evangelism can begin with signs and wonders. They can provide opportunity to share the gospel.
Sorry just incase I could be misunderstood. I'm not in anyway saying that going through the law and exposing sin so that people can repent of it is a bad way to do things. It's actually the focus of the questionnaire that was given to me each time I attended the evangelism training in June. Each of the meetings I went to also emphasised this in their teaching, running through the gospel rightly in much the same way as you do in the blog beneath.
The reason I pointed out those passages was to show that sermons were preached by the Apostles in the Bible, that saw people coming to faith, which didn't follow as strictly that 4 point call to repentance I wholeheartedly believe.
In this instance, I believe that the signs and wonders referenced in the passage spoke to some people who were then struck by the reality that 'God was real' and in response to this realisation.. people were told Jesus died - at your hands - but God conquered death and raised him up so that your sin is pardoned in grace.
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