This feels weird .
Speaker 1Different ways to share the gospel . Without Ray Comfort being here , that's not right . Let's just go home , guys . Let's call him on the phone and just put him on speaker . How many ?
Speaker 3crazy harebrained ideas has Ray had over the years , from you miming down in Santa Monica at Third Street Promenade , trapped in a box , to the spinning of the wheel , to doing slide-a-hand magic . You in a straight jacket , levitate in straight jackets .
Speaker 1See , I've had to adapt and curtail what I say around , ray , and I'm talking about humor , because sometimes , hey , imagine we did this and he gets that .
Speaker 3Look right .
Speaker 1He looks back and forth and his eyes go wide . So there's times I'm like I'm not going to joke about that Because he'll do it . He'll do it .
Speaker 3We were in Chicago and the restaurant was completely packed out . Ray just finished speaking and I said Ray , we can go table to table , I can do my light show and you can hand them tracks .
Speaker 3And I could just see this look of I don't want to do that . He just finished preaching and he goes , let's do it . And so we started going from table to table . I'm doing my little slide of hand light show and Ray starts handing out tracks and the manager comes up and he goes you need to leave right now . And Ray goes . Our entire party of like 15 people . He's like oh , you haven't eaten yet or paid yet . Yeah please just kind of keep it down .
Speaker 1The reason why I love it is because of what it's related to . He just has a passion for souls and a part of that , mark . The reason why he just Is ? Because he's trained himself over the years , because he does deal with fear , which we've repeated again and again , but it still shocks people . He's trained himself to say I'm not going to think about it because if I do , I'll talk myself out of it . So he just has this like evangelism , gospel , boom , do it . And here's I do , I'll talk myself out of it . So he just has this evangelism , gospel , boom , do it . And here's , I think , the real key and important thing .
Speaker 1Oftentimes we will sensationalize people , right , whether it's people who live in our day and age , or saints that have gone before us , or even the foundations of the faith , like the apostles , and we get deceived into thinking like they had something special . Listen , you have the same Holy Spirit . It's like you know . You look up into the sky and see the sun . That's the same sun that Nebuchadnezzar looked at . It's the same sun that Alexander the Great looked at , the same son Jesus looked at . So the same thing is true . The Holy Spirit you have in you is the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead , that indwelt Paul the Apostle .
Speaker 1The gospel you preach is the exact same gospel . The God that you worship is the exact same God . The giftings God gives are exactly the same . Now he uses this in different measure , but you have all the same things that you need . And , like Spurgeon said , you remember he gave that sermon with the illustration of all these candles and he said look , there are different sized candles . You have the one hour , the five , ten , fifteen hour candles . The point is not what size candle are you , you have the big candles , right , you have the Spurgeon fifteen hour candle , the Ray Comfort fifteen hour candle I was going to say Ray would be like a thirty second candle .
Speaker 1The point is not what size candle you are . The point is that you burn until the last drop of wax is spent , and that flame was never snuffed out . That's the point , and so be who God has called you to be . We haven't belabored this because this is important to what we're building up to . You know so .
Speaker 2Psalm 139 says that you were intricately woven from your mother's womb . It also goes on to say that God knows every hair on your head . He has ordained every moment of your life . So I've heard a pastor summarize Psalm 139 in this way you were made for the day and the day was made for you . All of your interests , all of your insecurities , all of your highs , all of your lows , all of your personality dispositions , all of your quirks , every single bit of it . It is not an accident . You know . I've told this story before One Valentine's Day .
Speaker 2I wanted to make chocolate chip heart-shaped cookies for my family . So I shape them in the shape of hearts , I throw them in the oven and they come back out 20 minutes later , 20 minutes later or whatever it is , and they look like anything but a heart . They look like honestly , they look like liver cookies , not heart-shaped cookies . You know and I tell people all the time when I preach at youth conferences you are not a liver cookie . You are not . You are no accident . Every aspect of your life has been designed by God . God does not want reformers in 2024 , 2025 . He does not want Puritans in 2025 . What he wants is you . You were made for the day , and the day was made for you . You were designed by God to be an instrument in his hands , and so what you're saying is accept that , believe in who God created you uniquely to be , and then make yourself available for his work .
Speaker 3How many Christians do we know have never intentionally gone out , for example , friday night at 6 pm ? I am going out strategically and specifically to share the gospel . No , what we do Listen , if somebody brings up the message to me , I will bring it back to them . Or I'm borrowing my mother's car . She's not a Christian .
Speaker 3I'm going to change all the radio preset buttons to a radio station , as if it's going to be caught instead of taught . No , this intentionality of I'm going to go out for the next 30 minutes and that's it , and I'm going to hand out gospel tracts . Having that in mind and I learned from you Easy in the past you can go out and you could have a goal for the night , and that goal for the night can differ . You can say you know , I'm going to hand out 10 gospel tracts , or I'm going to attempt to get into two conversations , not even if I do engage in these two conversations , but I'm just going to attempt to engage in these two conversations . That's my goal . And then , to kind of solidify this , bring somebody with you , hand them your car keys and say here's my goal . My goal is to try to talk to somebody with a red shirt and don't give me my car keys back until I've done it .
Speaker 3What is your goal ? Here's my goal . What's your goal ? We have each other's car keys . You don't get them back until you do that goal . That intentionality is so invigorating and people are missing out on it .
Speaker 1And the Lord delights in that .
Speaker 210 to 12 questions is , on average , what people are asking , and for you to just do a little bit of preparation , you don't need to be an expert . The more time you spend doing it , the more knowledge you'll gain . But you don't need to be an expert . If you have a general understanding and a general preparation for how to answer those questions , you have done more work than 99% of the people in this world and you can have that kind of confidence , because most people they don't have an epistemology . What that means is they haven't done the research as to understand what they believe and why they believe it . That's what the word epistemology means .
Speaker 2Most people just take whatever pop culture idea that they come flying through their head , whatever they read on Reddit , whatever their friend posted on Instagram , and they just run with that one liner . It's not very well thought out . And so for you to do just a little bit of work , to be a little bit prepared for those 10 to 12 questions , you will have the confidence that you need to get into those kinds of conversations . And , side note , there is nothing wrong with being in the middle of a conversation and someone asking something and you go . You know what ? I'm not really sure .
Speaker 1I don't know . That's totally okay and that lends itself to the authenticity factor . Like you're not some fake . Like wow , that touches people , man , they again they can sniff a fraud from a mile away . There is that place for relational evangelism , right , mark , neighbors , friends , family members .
Speaker 3That is the day-to-day rubbing of elbows with your coworkers , like with your friends , with your neighbors , right ? So if you go to the grocery store and you pick up some stuff to make some brownies , why not make a few extra brownies and bring them to the neighbor across the street ? You're Christmas shopping and you know that your neighbor doesn't have a lot of money , for whatever reason . You know what . Why not pick up a couple toys for their kids ? Yeah , and anonymously maybe , put them on the doorstep or put a gospel track , attach it to that right . Let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works and bring glory to your Father in heaven .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 3Well , this is how I met my wife , because we worked together at a restaurant in Fountain Valley . I would go to work early to help out anybody that was in need , and then I would stay late to help people make the transition as a server . Well , I engaged in conversation with her and she got saved by me just letting my light shine .
Speaker 1Yeah , and nothing delights our soul more than someone saying I printed my own track to get out , and I live in this area and here's why I printed my own track to get out , and I live in this area and here's why , or whatever $100 .
Speaker 1Yeah , I mean seriously , it's so , so good to do . So , yeah , just again , get creative , be fueled by love for people . Door to door . I did door to door for years and Selling vacuums Back at my church at the men's breakfast this past Saturday someone showed up because someone from our church went to their door . The guy had just prayed . He was asking God to direct him into a church . They knock on his door and he came to men's breakfast . They have men introduce themselves . He stood up and shared the story and he's been coming to the church now . So door to door again .
Speaker 1I used to do it . We had our church , have a group of men that were willing to serve the community and we'd say , hey , we're here to serve you . If you ever need anything , here's our card . And then we did a questionnaire so you could do that with people in your neighborhood . Take someone with you , you can invite them to your church and you'll be surprised how many people are lonely man . They're just sitting in their homes . Their only contact with the outside world for the most part is social media and that's very empty . You think it makes you feel satisfied .
Speaker 2I don't know man . I got about 1,500 people who love me on there .
Speaker 3Graffiti on storefront windows , just the gospel , the easy way , the Emile Zwayne way .
Speaker 1I've seen that . I've seen people tag up Jesus in places . Don't do that , friends . Please don't do that . Yeah , and then you know tracts . Giving out tracts is such a great way and you build up confidence to where you do it with authority . It's not like hey , this is for you . But hey , did you get one of these ? Hey , check this out it . But hey , did you get one of these ? Hey , check this out . It's amazing how people respond to authority or confidence , rather .
Speaker 2Let me just give a shout out , because we're talking about this sort of relational I would call it even testimonial
evangelism . I don't know if that was another one on your list , it may be falling here , but my wife is a great example of this . She is pretty introverted , soft-spoken . You'd never see her on a box preaching . But the second , a single mom , moves into our neighborhood . My wife is over there giving her treats and inviting her to coffee and sharing the gospel with her . And then she comes home and she's like babe , let's make sure she got . We help her put the Christmas lights up this Christmas . Let's make sure . That's the way you allow the beauty of the gospel to shine through every aspect of your life .
Speaker 1Thank you for tuning in to this week's highlights from the Living Waters podcast . Friends , we value your time , so we've created a bite-sized version of our podcast for listeners who want to get equipped . Without the jokes and fellowship . Be sure to check out the full episode every Thursday where we dive deeper into the topic . Until then , you can watch the full podcast episode available now on livingwaterstv .