Revival's Golden Key (25 page)

Here is something else that I have found to be very effective. One way you can gain instant credibility with young people, particularly teenagers, is to approach a group of two or three and ask, “Did you guys see this?” Then show them our pink and blue “Curved Illusion” tracts. That will get their attention. For credibility, have about ten one-dollar bills in your pocket, and ask (while holding the bills in your hand), “What’s the capital of England?” When someone responds, “London,” give him or
her a
dollar bill. If they don’t know, ask for the capital of France, or the capital of your state. After two simple questions (and after giving another dollar bill) say, “Which of you folks think that you are a good per-son?” Usually someone will say, “I’m a good person!” Then ask, “Do you want to go for $20? I will ask you three questions. If you prove to be a good person, I will give you $20. Do you want to give it a try?” If one is interested in trying, ask the person’s name and say, “Okay, John. I’m going to give you three questions to see if you are a good person. Here goes. Have you ever told a lie?”

Most people will say that they have. If John says that he hasn’t, press him with, “Have you never told a fib, a white lie, or a half truth?” When he says that he has, ask what that makes him. Most will say, “Liar,” while others may say, “Not a good person.” If John doesn’t want to call himself a liar, ask him what you would be called if you lied. That usually gets the person to admit that someone who has lied is called a liar. Once he has admitted that he is a liar, ask him if he has ever stolen something. If he says he hasn’t, smile as you tell him that you don’t believe him because he has just admitted that he is a liar. Then say, “Come on, be honest. Have you ever stolen anything... in your whole life...
even if it’s small?”
When he says yes, ask what that makes him. He will more than likely say, “A thief.”

Third question: “Jesus said, ‘Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
’
Have you ever looked at a woman with lust?”
¹²
Males usually laugh when they say that they have, so soberly say, “John, by your own admission, you are a lying, thieving, adulterer-at-heart, and you have to face God on Judgment Day. If God judges you by the Ten Commandments on the Day of Judgment, do you think you would be innocent or guilty?” If he says, “Guilty,” ask him if he would go to heaven or hell. If he responds, “Hell,” ask if that concerns him. If he says, “Heaven,” ask why. Then follow it with these verses (paraphrased): “All liars will have their part in the Lake of Fire” (Revelation 21:8). This verse may sound harsh, but quote it anyway. It’s God’s Word and it is quick and powerful. Also quote 1 Corinthians 6:9
,10
: “Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards
,...
will in-her it the kingdom of God.” This covers the First, Second, Seventh, Eighth and Tenth Commandments. It also covers the Fifth. Someone who proves to be a lying thief has
dishonored
his parents
’
name. All you
are wanting
to do at this point is to awaken the person to the standard of God’s Law, and to their desperate state before the Judge of the universe.

Show genuine concern for their plight. Try to ensure that all of your hearers (other teenagers) are listening and let them know that they too have to face God. Say, “I don’t want you to go to hell. You don’t want to go to hell, and God doesn’t want you to go to hell. Do you know what He did so that you wouldn’t have to go there?” Then take them to the cross of Calvary, stressing their urgent need to repent, and inform them that they may not be here tomorrow.

Your
Role in Witnessing

Take great confidence that you don’t have to convince a sinner of the reality of Judgment Day. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. John 16:8 says that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The mind of the unsaved cannot understand the judgment of God: “The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts
..
.
Your judgments are far above, out of his sight”
(Psalm 10:4
,5
, emphasis added). The word used for “convict” in John 16:8 also means “to convince.” Only the Holy Spirit can
convict
a sinner about his sin and
convince
him of judgment. We can’t do that. All we can do is plant the seed of truth. When the sinner repents and trusts the Savior, it is then that the Holy Spirit dwells within him and seals him (John 14:17; Ephesians 1:13).

Neither is it our job to convince someone of the deity of Jesus. When Peter identified Jesus as the Son of God, He said, “Blessed are you, Simon
Bar'Jonah
, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). It is God who reveals that great truth, so let Him do that task.

Nor do you have to be an expert on the creation/ evolution debate, although it is good to have knowledge on the subject. I often use the topic to draw a crowd when open-air preaching, but it rarely comes up on a one-to-one basis; it hardly seems relevant to a man once he admits that he’s a lying, thieving, adulterer-at'

heart
who has to face a holy God on the Day of Wrath.

As mentioned earlier, we are to reason with a sinner using the Law. Never underestimate the power of reasoning about the reality of hell. Learn how to give extreme scenarios that stretch him into a moral dilemma. Say, “Imagine if someone raped your mother or sister, then strangled her to death. Do you think God should punish him?” If the person is reasonable, he will say, “Yes, of course. That makes sense.” Then ask, “Do you think He should punish thieves?” Then follow with liars, etc. Tell him that God is perfect, holy, just, and righteous; that He will punish all sin, right down to every idle word, and that His “prison” is a place called “hell.”

Always take him back to his personal sins. Remember to speak to his conscience—“You know right from wrong. God gave you a conscience,” etc. Some people teach of a temporary hell (purgatory), or of “annihilation” (that the soul ceases to exist after death). The Bible, however, speaks of conscious,
eternal
punishment. If he thinks that is harsh, tell him that it is. If we think
eternal
punishment is horrific, what should we do about it? Shake our fists at God? When such foolish thoughts enter our minds, we must go to the foot of the cross and meditate on the great love God had for us—that He was in Christ reconciling the world to
Himself
. Then, we must turn any horror into concern, and plead with sinners to flee from the wrath to come.

C. S. Lewis seemed to sum up the terrors of hell when he said, “There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than the doctrine of hell, if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of

Scripture and, especially, of our Lord’s own words; it has always been held by the Christian Church, and it has the support of reason.”

That’s why the Law is so wonderful. It gives hell rationality, and thereby gives access to a heart that was once closed. I found this to be the case just after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on New York. It’s not every day that you can see, live on television, 4,000 people go to their deaths in a matter of seconds. The experience left the whole world realizing not only their vulnerability, but also their own mortality.

A Unique Witnessing Opportunity

It was in that climate that I found myself speaking to hundreds of unsaved university students. I have often said that one good session of open-air preaching can reach more people in 30 minutes than the average church reaches in one year. There are a few drawbacks, though. It’s difficult to get, and then hold, a crowd. Often hecklers create confusion. However, I think I may have found something that can reach more people in 30 minutes than many good open-air preaching sessions.

In August 2001, I called a large university in my home city (Christchurch, New Zealand) and spoke to the president of the Students
’
Association. I said that I would be visiting in October and would give any atheist an honorarium of $100 to speak for 25 minutes on “Why There Is No God.” It would be a “debate,” but without arguing. I would go first for 25 minutes, simply presenting my case for God’s existence, and then my opponent would present his case and get $100 for his time.

He said it would be interesting, but doubted if many would show up as it was in the middle of exams. I said that I would like to try it anyway.
A short time later I was informed that a resident professor of philosophy had agreed to the debate.

Here is the student president’s promo letter:

As exams are now with us, many students will be praying for a miracle. But is anybody listening? UCSA is proud to present the title fight to decide the heavyweight theory of the world.

In the dark corner, hailing from UC’s Philosophy Department and weighing in on the side of atheism—Dr. Paul
Studtman
.

In the corner bathed in an ambient glow, the author of
How to Make an Atheist Backslide,
and weighing in on the side of God Almighty—Ray Comfort.

At stake is a genuine offer from Ray Comfort of $US250
,000
for anybody who can provide scientific evidence for the theory of evolution. For that sort of money
Turi
Hollis, the university chaplain, has been digging around in his ‘not for public disclosure
’
files.

This meeting will not be broadcast on any network and is exclusive to: Shelley Common Room (upstairs at UCSA) at 1 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 24.

I arrived in the hall on that date at 12:40 p.m. and found about a dozen people. At 12:45 p.m. there were about 100. At 1:00 p.m. the room was packed with hundreds of students on the floor, crammed into the doorways, and even packed down the halls. No doubt they wanted to see a Christian get eaten alive by a professor of philosophy.

I spoke for 25 minutes. The outline for God’s existence was: 1) the evidence of creation; 2) the evidence of the Bible; and 3) the evidence of the conscience. When it came to the evidence of the conscience, I explained that if someone wasn’t a Christian, his con-science was deadened, and I was going to resurrect it by going through the Ten Commandments. I explained that it wasn’t going to be a pleasant experience—it was like looking into the mirror first thing in the morning (not a pretty sight)—but that it was most necessary to present my case, so I asked them to be patient with me. That gave me license to go through each of the Ten Commandments, then into Judgment Day, the cross, faith, and repentance.

The professor then shared his thoughts. His words were so big and his sentences so long that it was easy to forget the subject on which he began the sentence. Frankly, it was hard to stay awake. He had to leave after he finished speaking—which left me with hundreds of unsaved students asking questions such as “Who made God?” (
one
of my
favorites
).

During the presentation, I explained that evolution was unscientific and that there was no proof for the theory. I then told them to go to
www.raycomfort.com
and collect Dr. Kent
Hovind’s
$250,000 offer—if they could “provide any scientific evidence for evolution.” During the question time a student said, “I would like to know if anyone
does
have scientific evidence for evolution.” There was a deafening silence as everyone waited for someone to say there was evidence. No one said a thing, so we went on to the next question.

One older man (perhaps a professor) sarcastically asked if I believed in aliens. I told him that I did, and that California was having a problem with them coming across the border from Mexico. Everyone laughed, and he sat down.