The Joy of Gospel Outreach

 

 Steve, 04/22

 “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” (Matt 28)

That's the good news we get to hear every Easter morning, and it's the reason why our church attendance is higher than any other day of the year.

But imagine hearing and/ experiencing that good news periodically throughout the year, and not just at church but also in the streets and in the marketplace!

I was at the UIC campus to drop off a return at the Amazon dropbox and decided to stop at the bowling alley on my way out to reach out with the Gospel, where I met a fellow believer named Steve. 

Steve has faith in Jesus for salvation but had great difficulty putting it into words, so I tried to help him to be able to articulate the Gospel, as well as to have assurance of salvation.

Helping remind fellow believers of the basics of the Gospel is just one of many ways I get to experience the resurrection throughout the year. I also relive the resurrection of Jesus when I hear stories from fellow believers of how they came to life in Christ though they had been dead in their sins.

But what about the doubt, the criticism, the mockery even, that I get from unbelievers – where is the hope and joy of resurrection in those conversations? Believe it or not, I experience the same joy of resurrection in conversing with them.

How? First, I don’t want to belittle the importance of their estrangement from God, but I trust that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead can work to bring unbelievers to faith and raise them from the dead too, first spiritually, and in the next life, physically. I trust that their story isn’t finished yet.

But talking with unbelievers also helps me experience Jesus’ resurrection anew in realizing that “there, but for the grace of God, go I”. I was once in the unbelievers shoes, dead in my sins, but “if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

As we keep sharing the Gospel, we are reminded continually of the death and resurrection of Jesus in our own lives. As we worship our risen Savior at church today, let’s resolve to share – and live out – that resurrection power throughout the year.

Thanks for allowing me to record our conversation Steve! It can be seen at https://youtu.be/_-03FSuFrp4 on my YouTube channel. (Sorry for poor audio, a bowling alley isn't a good place to record a conversation! It might help to use the transcript or subtitles tools.)