Desire Spiritual Growth » Evangelism

An Open Letter to Non-Christians

Daniel C. Wilson — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:00:20 +0000

Dear Non-Christian,

I’ve known you for a while now, ever since I broke out of my Christian bubble and met you on the college campus. It has been refreshing to engage a bigger world. It has spurred me along in growth and understanding.

Yeah, I Envied Your Swagger

To be honest, I was a bit envious of you when we first met. I envied your humor, your carefree attitude, and your swagger. So when you first opened up and told me you were insecure and desperately seeking hope and change…it came as a bit of a shock. I didn’t know you were so much like me.

What I Never Told You, and Why

There’s something I never told you though. I knew where to find those things. I knew where to find hope. I knew the secret to change. I knew the path to peace. I knew the key to unlocking joy. It is all found in a relationship with God through salvation in Jesus Christ.

Why didn’t I tell you? I blamed it on fear. What if you rejected me, scorned my message, mocked my weakness, or laughed at my childlike faith?

Fear Wasn’t The Root Problem

Fear, though, never was my problem. It was just a convenient excuse. You see, fear is just a surface symptom of a deeper problem. I myself lacked deep enough relationship with God in Christ. I had been able to speak of Him as a lover speaking of his loved one, I would been unafraid.

But things have changed now. I’ve never known God before like I do now. I’ve never loved the gospel of Jesus Christ like I do now. And I want you to find the same things. It is impossible to have such a high appreciation of Christ and have a silent tongue. There is real change and hope in Jesus Christ.

I’m not talking about using a lot of vague theological terms to describe some sort of uselessly abstract path to salvation.

Know the Real God

I’m talking about really knowing the real God. Stop running from Him towards things that never satisfy. Find freedom from destructive desires and habits, and replace them with a lifestyle that is filled with hope, love, sacrifice, humility, security, and contentment. It is all found in Jesus Christ. It is radical. It will completely change who you are, how you view life, work and people.

I hope to keep writing and explain these things further. There isn’t a discussion of greater importance that we could engage in together.

Sincerely,

Daniel Wilson

Enjoy this post? Subscribe to blog updates via email or via RSS

7 reasons why God used D. L. Moody

Daniel C. Wilson — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:33:04 +0000

D.L. Moody was a strikingly ordinary human used powerfully by the Almighty. How did that come about? Why was Moody used powerfully? R. A. Torrey gives us 7 reasons in his biography of Moody:

1. A Fully Surrendered Man
Moody had no will and goals outside of God’s. The heart of the Father filled the heart of Moody. Not a mere agreement to cooperate with God in addition to a personal agenda, but a full-scale submission to God’s will alone.

2. A Man of Prayer
Practical belief in God powered Moody’s prayer life. “He was a man who met every difficulty that stood in his way — by prayer. Everything he undertook was backed up by prayer, and in everything, his ultimate dependence was upon God.”

3. A Deep and Practical Student of the Bible
Every morning, Moody shut himself up alone in a room to meet with God in the Word. He was unwilling to sacrifice time with God for something of lesser value.

4. A Humble Man
Moody was convinced of his own inadequacy. This led him to trust God for strength. It also allowed him to enjoy putting himself in the background and others in the foreground.

5. His Entire Freedom from the Love of Money
Millions on dollars passed through Moody’s hands, and as Torrey put it, “He loved to gather money for God’s work; he refused to accumulate money for himself.”

6. His Consuming Passion for the Salvation of the Lost
As a new believer, Moody resolved to never let a day pass without speaking to at least one person about the gospel. Sometimes, remembering that commitment stirred him from his bed and out into the streets late at night.

7. Definitely Endued with Power from on High
“In his early days he was a great hustler; he had a tremendous desire to do something, but he had no real power,” Torrey described Moody, “He worked very largely in the energy of the flesh.” That changed after he began praying for the power of the Holy Spirit, not his human effort, to drive his ministry.

Which one of those evidences of God’s grace in Moody’s life strike you the most?

Click to download the short (15 pg) book, Why God used D.L. Moody, by R. A. Torrey.

Enjoy this post? Subscribe to blog updates via email or via RSS

Proclaiming the gospel: What we learn from casting nets

Daniel C. Wilson — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:49:35 +0000

It was the tenth or so time I had slung the 12-foot net into the waves while fishing where I am vacationing in Florida. As my biceps burned from casting the lead-weighted net into the gulf, the text of Mark 1:16-20 came to life. Indian Shores, Florida, started feeling a lot like Galilee. I could taste a little of how Simon, Andrew, James, and John experienced as they spit sand and mopped sweat.

4 observations on fishing with nets
In the text, the soon-to-be disciples of Jesus Christ (Simon, Andrew, James, and John) teach us about casting nets.

1. Fishermen.
They cast their nets because they were fishermen. Fishermen cast nets, it is just what they do. Notice also that they fished in teams instead of trying to manage boats and nets alone.

2. Fatigue.
They cast nets even with fatigued biceps, wiping sweat from their brows with calloused hands. Casting nets exhausts the body.

3. Failure.
They cast nets even after pulling many empty nets into the boat, shaking their heads and wondering where all the fish went. It is ridiculous to expect a large catch with every cast.

4. Fish.
They cast nets with the goal of catching fish. This involves being in a place where there are fish, and pursing the catch.

4 challenges to the fishermen

1. Proclaim the gospel as a lifestyle, because that is just what disciples do. It is expected that a Christian will witness in the same we that we think “duh!” when told that fishermen fish. Also, work with a team to share the gospel by supporting and encouraging one another to keep fishing. Hold each other accountable. Being a loner is arrogance, not bravery.

2. Persevere in sharing the gospel. When you’ve have a grueling work schedule, proclaim the gospel. Calloused hands belong to those who have pushed on through pain and exhaustion, not to those too self-conscious to try. The marks on Christ’s hands show that He gave His life to the Father’s business. Let our hands show that we are about our Father’s business.

3. When the nets come up empty and we fail to see the results we expected, by all means, analyze the situation and figure out what might have gone wrong. Mend nets. But never let the fear of failure keep you from fishing. The only reason to stop and mend nets is for the purpose of gearing up to try again the next morning at sunrise.

4. Be where the fish are. Sitting on a pew is not fishing. Listening in the pews on Sunday morning may serve to help you mend your net, but go out and engage the lost.

We proclaim the gospel by His power for His glory. Let’s cast our nets.

Can you think of any other elements of fishing with nets that have parallels to proclaiming the gospel? The idea of drawing a net in reminds me of John 6:44. Fish can’t resist the net once drawn up in it. Fish don’t willingly go into nets, they are surprised by them (and we don’t willingly love God first either). The net brings death. I haven’t fully thought out all of that though…

Lastly, a prayer request
I have a prayer request. I spent time casting my nets and fishing Tuesday afternoon with a man named Mark. He was doing some construction work on a beach house nearby and we joined up for the afternoon to fish. Lord willing, this morning (Wednesday) I will be fishing at sunrise with Mark. And I will put some of this to practice and share the gospel. Will you lift Mark and I up in prayer to the Father who alone can change hearts, open eyes, and save sinners?

Enjoy this post? Subscribe to blog updates via email or via RSS

The struggle to believe in rebirth

Daniel C. Wilson — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:12:08 +0000

As the movie screen went black, the concluding feeling was one of unsatisfied needs in the characters. The popular movie reflects the hungers in the hearts of the ordinary McDonalds cashier, school kid, tennis coach, and everyone else.

They are starved for truth that brings freedom. The fascination with themes of redemption point to the heart’s longing for the gospel message, the very message the movie can only crudely hint at.

That gospel message has been entrusted to followers of Jesus Christ. God opens eyes to the truth, and chooses to use us to bring His gospel of grace to the lost.

The honest truth: I struggled to believe the power of the gospel.
Do you want the honest truth? I have not always believed all men really needed the gospel. I knew I needed salvation, and that the Bible says other men need it. But when I engaged in a conversation with an agnostic on campus, he seemed to be getting along fine without God. He was decently moral. More conscious of poor than I am. Hard working. What did he need God for, other than to avoid hell (which he didn’t believe in)?

What does man need God for? Everything. Even the seemingly moral and compassionate agnostic needs to be set free to serve God and enjoy the relationship. Even if he blindly denies it, the agnostic’s daily existence was a life-size testimony to his inability to satisfy his extreme desires with earthly vanities. The question is not “Does man need God?” The question is, “Does man see his need for a Savior to reconcile him to God?”

Thanks be to our Lord for opening my eyes to the reality of man’s need for the gospel. I may not confidently say that I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16)

Real beliefs change real life: Living like we know there is a way to be born again.
When I really believe that all men need the blood of Jesus Christ to bring them into the relationship they crave, it opens my mouth. There is hope to proclaim. Men can indeed be born again.
Let me close with a quote from Spurgeon:

“…he who really has this high estimate of Jesus will think much of him, and as the thoughts are sure to run over at the mouth, he will talk much of him. Do we so? If Jesus is precious to you, you will not be able to keep your good news to yourself; you will be whispering it into your child’s ear; you will be telling it to your husband; you will be earnestly imparting it to your friend; without the charms of eloquence you will be more than eloquent; your heart will speak, and your eyes will flash as you talk of his sweet love. Every Christian here is either a missionary or an impostor. Recollect that. You either try to spread abroad the kingdom of Christ, or else you do not love him at all. It cannot be that there is a high appreciation of Jesus and a totally silent tongue about him.”

Do you believe the gospel is powerful? Have you ever fought these same struggles? What did God use to bring you to understand your need, and see others’ need in such a real way that it motivates you to verbally proclaim the word of God that brings saving faith to lost men?

Enjoy this post? Subscribe to blog updates via email or via RSS