so that every1 will know some1 who truly follows JESUS...

GoFish!

27th october was our monthly LM and it was at one of the dental classrooms. was really encouraged by sam (M1) who was leading worship. especially the song PEOPLE NEED THE LORD really spoke of the urgency of sharing the gospel, in line with our theme of evangelism for this LM. :):)

Serene (D4) shared her testimony about how she came to Christ... here are some excerpts from her testimony:

"I was aware of the Christian faith way before, when I was in Secondary school. My four years of secondary school was spent at CHIJ Secondary (TP), where I was exposed to the different practices of the catholic faith....When I befriended my best friend in secondary school, who was a Christian, she introduced me to the Christian faith.......I was living with the knowledge about Jesus Christ but I was not prepared to declare my faith or change my lifestyle. When I entered Dentistry several years later, I recall Elaine approaching me to ask about my religion in the student lounge. When I told her about my past experience with Christianity, she asked me if I knew what the 4 spiritual laws were about......At that moment, I wasn’t sure of how I got the conviction, but I actually agreed to say the Sinner’s Prayer together with Elaine. I guess it was a leap of faith to find out for myself who God is......I realized that it is important to have Christians take initiative.....Who knows, the next person we reach out to may be able to find eternal life."

Amen to that! we don't know when or where God is going to call someone to Himself, but if we allow ourselves to be used by Him wherever we are, He will bring us to places we never expected ourselves to be.

after Serene, Feng Yi (M5) shared about his experiences sharing Christ to patients as well as his thoughts on evangelism..
as with all things medical, we start with the ABCs:

Assess the patient (this requires spiritual discernment - to know when and where is the right time/person to share with),
Bring the good news (our job is just to share the gospel, don't worry yourself with other stuff!!),
Christ will do the rest (we sow the seed, God is the one who grows it! doesn't matter if we dun get to do followup with the patient or even if he/she does not say the sinner's prayer... our job is to share Christ!)

he said some pretty good slogans which i thought was really great. FY, you shud be on E-comm! haha.
"Medicine can't cure, only Jesus can."

Evan showed us two clips from the movie Titanic... the part where the ppl were drowning, and the ppl in the boats refused to turn back cos they were afraid that their lifeboat would capsize if they tried to go back. at the end, when they finally went back, there was no more struggling, cos all the ppl were dead. "it's too late. we waited too long." said the guy.

do we picture ourselves saying that with our friends, relatives, acquaintances who never heard of Jesus?

friends, we have a lifeboat that cannot be capsized, yet are we going back to save those who are going into eternity without Christ?? are we going to wait til it's too late?

i introduced our prayer card: GoFish. (based on Matthew 4:19)
PS: if u dun have one, pls get from me (ask evan)!!!! i have plenty! haha.

at Crusade one of our 4 major distinctives is initiative evangelism. not just winning ppl to Christ, but really intentionally praying for the ppl whom God has placed in our lives, that we may take the initiative to grab or even create opportunities to share with these ppl.

this prayer card is pocket sized so that we can carry it around in our wallets, as a reminder to ourselves to continually pray for 3 non-Christian friends whom God has brought across our paths. rather than wait passively for a chance to share, why not start praying for them, and for God to open the door for spiritual conversations?

we also prayed thru 6 questions we hope God can plant in these friends' hearts, so that they may be prepared for the gospel:

1. Whom can I trust?
Ask God to plant in the hearts of lost people a skepticism about the lies they hear, whether philosophical, social, or political. Soon they will discover it is not possible to trust anybody other than someone who is absolutely perfect. Eventually this search will direct their thoughts to God.

2. What is my reason for being?
Ask God to plant in their hearts an urgency concerning this question. This will cause a reevaluation of their reason for being and lead them to consider a purpose not found at a human level.

3. when will I really be free?
Need to recognize they are not really free from sin, pain and suffering. Pray they will feel an emptiness that can be satisfied only by receiving Christ into their lives. Pray that the person will ask, "When will I be free from this emptiness in my heart?"

4. why do I reject God?
Some do not recognize His existence, some are indifferent, some have trouble acknowledging Him (having some issues with the idea of the existence of God). Ask God to cause lost souls to question the reality of God and why they reject Him or not acknowledge God. Pray that they will examine their views on God and seek for answers to who God is.

5. How can I cope with my problems?
Ask God to show how flimsy the things they put their hope in; that they see their hopelessness. Our intercession is for them to see their problems beyond their abilities and realize their need for deliverance and thus prepare their hearts for the day the Gospel will be given to them.

6. where will I go when I die?
The reality of death is understood in every culture. Everyone wonders about death at some point in life. Pray that God will turn these questions into a quest for an eternal answer, that He will plant a longing to resolve this issue.

Praying these prayer interrogatives does not force salvation upon an individual, but rather prepares his or her heart for the Gospel.

May this be a start of a renewed fire and vision for sharing the gospel with our friends.
May we not grow weary in sowing the seeds. Those who sow abundantly will also reap abundantly.
God has called each and every single one of us, not just a selected few who "have the gift".
Have you responded to His call?

posted by krys @ 11:32 pm 0 comments

A Parable of Fishless Fishermen

by John M. Drescher

Now it came to pass that a group existed who called themselves fishermen. And lo, there were many fish in the waters all around. In fact, the whole area was surrounded by streams and lakes filled with fish, and the fish were hungry.

Week after week, month after month, and year after year these who called themselves fishermen met in meetings and talked about their call to fish, the abundance of fish, and how they might go about fishing. Year after year they carefully defined what fishing means, defended what fishing as an occupation, and declared that fishing is always to be a primary task of a fisher.

Continually they searched for new and better methods of fishing and for new and better definitions of fishing. Further they said, “The fishing industry exists by fishing as fire exists by burning.” They loved slogans such as “Fishing is the task of every fisherman,” and “Every fisherman is a fisher,” and A fishermen’s outpost for every fisherman’s club.” They sponsored special meetings called “Fishermen’s Campaigns” and “The Month for Fishermen to Fish.” They sponsored costly nationwide and worldwide congresses to discuss fishing to promote fishing and hear about all the ways of fishing such as the new fishing equipment, fish calls, and whether any new bait was discovered.

These fishermen built large, beautiful buildings called “Fishing Headquarters.” The plea was that everyone should be a fisherman and every fisherman should fish. One thing they didn’t do, however – they didn’t fish. In addition to meeting regularly, they organized a board to send out fishermen to other places where there are many fish. All the fishermen seemed to agree that what is needed is a board which could challenge fishermen to be faithful in fishing. The board was formed by those who had the great vision and courage to speak about fishing, to define fishing, and to promote the idea of fishing, and to promote the idea of fishing in faraway streams and lakes where many other fish of different colours lived.

Also the board hired staffs and appointed committees and held many meeting to define fishing, to defend fishing, and to decide what new streams should be thought about. But the staff and committee members did not fish. Large, elaborate, and expensive training centres were built whose original and primary prupose was to teach fishermen how to fish. Over the years courses were offered on the needs of fish, the psychological reactions of fish, and how to approach and feed fish. Those who taught had doctorates in fishology. But the teachers did not fish. They only taught fishing.

Year after year, after tedious training, many were graduated and were given fishing licenses. They were sent to do full-time fishing, some to distant waters that were filled with fish.

Some spent much study and travel to learnt the history of fishing and to see faraway places where the founding fathers did great fishing in the centuries past. They lauded the faithful fishermen of years before who handed down the idea of fishing.

Further the fishermen built large printing houses to publish fishing guides. Presses were kept busy day and night to produce materials solely devoted to fishing methods, equipment, and programs to arrange and to encourage meetings to talk about fishing. A speakers’ bureau was also provided to schedule special speakers on the subject of fishing.

Many who felt the call to be fishermen responded. They were commissioned and sent to fish. But like fishermen back home they never fished. Like the fishermen back home they engaged in all kinds of other occupations. They built power plants to pump water for fish and tractors to plow new waterways. They made all kinds of equipment to travel here and there to look at fish hatcheries/ some also said they wanted to be part of the fishing party, but they felt called to furnish fishing equipment.

Others felt their job was to relate to the fish in a good way so the fish would know the difference between good and bad fishermen. Others felt that simply letting the fish know they were nice, land-loving neighbours and how loving and kind they were was enough.

After one stirring meeting on “The Necessity for Fishing,” one young fellow left the meeting and went fishing. The next day he reported he had caught two outstanding fish. He was honoured for his excellent catch and scheduled to visit all the big meetings possible to tell how he did it. so he quit his fishing in order to have time to tell about the experience to the other fishermen. He was also placed on the Fishermen’s General Board as a person having considerable experience.

Now it’s true that many of the fishermen sacrificed and put up with all kinds of difficulties, some lived near the water and bore the smell of dead fish everyday. They received the ridicule of some who made fun of their fishermen’s clubs and the fact that they claimed to be fishermen yet never fished. They wondered about those who felt it was of little use to attend the weekly meetings to talk about fishing. After all, were they not following the Master who said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men?”

Imagine how hurt some were when one day a person suggested that those who didn’t catch fish were not really fishermen, no matter how much they claimed to be. Yet it did sound correct. Is a person a fisherman if year after year he never catches a fish? Is one following if he isn’t fishing?

posted by krys @ 4:11 pm 0 comments