witnessing Archives - Fragrance Arise

Today isn’t Thursday, I know. But this story happened last Thursday, July 30, at Victoria Gardens outdoor mall, at the parking structure just east of the library.

I’d like to tell this story with as much detail as possible because when I used to hear stories like this, it sounded so mysterious. It took me a while to figure out that it’s not about me being awesome, it’s about GOD being awesome, and me just taking simple steps to live out what I know is true.

This is not a perfect model of how to witness. There are a few things I could have done differently, and I was definitely outside my comfort zone, but I just acted like myself and took the opportunity in front of me. The results aren’t up to me.

Last Thursday, I was coming down the stairs of the parking structure on my way to meet someone, when I heard some kind of accident below me, like someone had just sprained an ankle. I peered over to see one teenage boy helping another up off the ground. By the time I made it to the ground, they were limping away together.

“Hey! Are you guys okay?” I called after them.

They turned around. “Yeah, yeah, we’re fine, thanks,” they said.

“Could I ask you guys something really quick?” I asked.

“Sure,” they said, and came back towards me.

“What happened?” I asked.

“My ankle got twisted,” one guy said.

“Oh wow, I’m sorry,” I said. “Hey, um, I’m a Christian, and I believe in Jesus, and I believe that Jesus heals people… so, would you mind if I prayed for it really quickly?”

“Sure, yeah, of course,” he said eagerly. I asked his name – he was Aaron and his friend was Brian – and I knelt down and he gave me permission to touch his ankle lightly.

I don’t remember what exactly I prayed. On the one hand, I wanted to keep it simple and brief, and on the other hand, I wanted to provide a little bit of a theological foundation for what I was doing. I prayed for about thirty seconds, thanked Jesus for His love and praised Him for who He is, and asked Him to touch Aaron’s ankle and bring total healing.

I asked Aaron how the pain was, and he said it was a lot better! I asked if I could pray again, and the second time I got a bit bolder. I declared that I have the Holy Spirit inside of me and God has given me authority, and I commanded the ankle to be healed in Jesus’ name.

This time, Aaron said it felt a LOT better, and he was standing and walking without a problem, grinning ear to ear.

“So, do you believe in Jesus? What’s your background with God?” I asked.

“I’m actually a Mormon,” Aaron said. “I haven’t been active in the church for a while, but yeah, I believe in Jesus.”

“Awesome! I actually have a lot of Mormon friends, and one thing they’ve told me is that they read the Book of Mormon a lot, but sometimes not the Bible as much. Is that true for you?”

“No, we definitely read the Bible as much as the Book of Mormon. It’s another testament of Jesus Christ…” He briefly explained to me a couple of the tenets of Mormon theology, and I nodded along, but I really didn’t want to get into a historical discussion of Joseph Smith, etc. I knew I had only a few minutes with these boys, and I wanted to focus the conversation on the heart of the matter.

“We could have a whole discussion about all kinds of things here, but as I understand it the biggest difference is that Mormons believe that Jesus is the son of God, but not fully God Himself, is that right?” I asked.

Aaron agreed that was correct and elaborated a little bit, but it felt to me like he was lacking conviction a bit. I didn’t want to let the opportunity go without at least briefly letting them hear the gospel.

“Well, without getting into a whole big thing here or getting all preachy at you, I do just want to tell you that the Jesus who just healed your ankle actually is fully God Himself, and He really wants to have a close personal, intimate relationship with you, and that can only happen when you fully believe and trust in who He really is and fully trust in His grace. It’s not about grace plus ‘all you can do;’ it’s by grace through faith, not works, so that no one can boast. That’s Ephesians 2:8-9. And I’d just encourage you to really seek out who Jesus is in the Bible, and see what God’s saying to you.”

Aaron said okay, and we all said “have a good day,” and went on our ways. He wasn’t limping at all anymore.

I don’t know if Aaron’s been thinking about our meeting since then. I don’t know what God’s up to in his life, or Brian’s. I do know that his ankle probably wouldn’t have gotten healed and he probably wouldn’t have heard the Gospel that day if I hadn’t stopped to talk to him, even though my heart was pounding.

I hope this story can be an encouragement that letting God use you to touch strangers with the power and truth of the Gospel doesn’t have to be mysterious or complicated. It’s not about how awesome we are, but how awesome God is.

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
(I Corinthians 2:1-5)

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Two years ago, I went with an evangelism team to the Edge of Hell haunted house held downtown in Kansas City every year. This year, I went again.

Let’s just get one thing straight: I’m not a natural evangelist. While I certainly love talking about truth, I have about a million and one fears related to approaching strangers and talking to them about Jesus. I was surprisingly calm all day, however, and looking forward to seeing what God would do.

Before we set out, the director of IHOPKC’s evangelism department gave us a quick briefing on how to approach people with the gospel. One thing he said was, “If they’re breathing, you can talk to them about Jesus!” He introduced us to a short “spiritual survey” that we could use to talk to people about spiritual matters. He also gave us a cd called “23 Minutes in Hell” about the testimony of a man who went to hell in a vision. (Note: I do not believe that the doctrine of hell should usually be the lead point in a presentation of the gospel, but since this was a Halloween haunted house event and people were looking to be “scared” anyway, it became a thrilling draw for people.)

Once the bus arrived at the location, my partner Grace and I decided to start off by praying. We surrendered the evening to God and asked Him to lead us and prepare the way before us. I specifically asked God to make it easy for us to talk to people, because at that point I was feeling really directionless and nervous.

We saw two girls, probably in their late teens, hovering near the end of the line. I decided that seemed about as easy as it was going to get, so I walked over to them and said, “Hi! Are you guys in line? Is this your first time?” After chatting with them for a minute and introducing ourselves, I launched right in with something like, “We’re just out here talking to people about spiritual things… I mean, ‘Edge of Hell,’ that’s kind of spiritual, right? So, do you believe in hell?”

The older girl, Mia, was really willing to engage with us, and she told us that she expected to go to heaven because she tried to live “godly according to the Bible,” but couldn’t really define what a Christian was, so I took the chance to lay out the gospel for her. I don’t really remember what I said… something about sin and Jesus and grace covering us, and one moment’s decision being the start of a lifelong journey… it definitely could have been far more complete and organised, but Mia was definitely listening.

Eventually she told us that she knew she needed to make a decision for Jesus, but just wasn’t ready yet. Grace and I both encouraged her and I gave her the cd, and we walked on. I’ve thought of Mia every day since then; I know God is pursuing her and bringing her to her day of decision.

The next person we met (after wandering around for a while playing the “I don’t know, what are you feeling?” game) was a woman named Brandi. She was sitting by herself on the steps behind a building. Grace approached her and asked how she was doing. She answered, “Good, I’m just waiting for my kids– but my back is killing me!” Oh hello, we can probably do something about that.

Grace and I both prayed briefly for healing. In less than a minute, Brandi said her back felt much better, but it would probably start hurting if she stood up. Grace encouraged her to try, so Brandi stood, walked back and forth a few steps, and couldn’t stop smiling– her back was COMPLETELY healed!!

We both got prophetic words for her and were able to share God’s heart with her, and she was definitely tearing up by the time we left. She said that she prays every night and sends her kids to church but doesn’t go with them, but is now thinking about doing so. God is definitely drawing Brandi toward Himself!

We talked to several other people who were still polite though much less receptive, and I know that even if they didn’t allow up to fully share the gospel with them, just our reaching out and speaking to them about God could have made a difference. Our job isn’t to know how our actions will affect the other person completely. Our job is merely to be faithful stewards of the message with which we have been entrusted and to walk in love every step of the way.

When our group was finally all back together and ready to debrief, we counted up the encounters we’d had. Our group had shared the gospel with over 150 people, 5 people had given their lives to Christ, and many more had been healed!

While I’m still not a natural evangelist, I do truly love sharing the truth of what God has made available to mankind with people who so desperately need it. I have touched Jesus’ heart, and I know how desperately He wants these people for His own. It’s still plenty uncomfortable, but I want to join Him in His mission of reconciling the world to Himself.

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am…”
(John 17:24)

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
(2 Corinthians 5:20)

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Fragrance Arise

Tag: witnessing

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