Sis Josephine Phang
At Youth Impact on 7 Dec 2019
It’s a little embarrassing, but I don’t think I have really, actually tried. Have you?
Try what ah you ask?
Okay, so you know – It’s always good to reflect and contemplate on your life every now and then.
Not daydream. BUT Think. Contemplate. Reflect.
To contemplate means to think, and reflecting means introspection. Both are good for maturity and personal growth.
Anyway, so the other day I was contemplating and I want you guys to do this okay, from time to time. When I mean ‘contemplate’, it’s not about reflecting on:
(1) how many A’s you scored in your last exam,
(2) how well you excelled in sports or any school events this year (or how many medals / trophies you have won),
(3) how ‘popular’ you are currently on social media (likes, followers, friends, etc.), or
(4) how much you have achieved in life – no, not in THAT countable, ‘material’ and secular sense kinda contemplation…
…but more a spiritual sense of contemplation: As a Christian, How many people have you ACTUALLY shared Christ with? This is what I want us to zero in on, today.
Like I mentioned, I was recently reflecting on my 24 years of being a human. Like, I was NOT reflecting on what I have achieved, what I have done and all that…it was more of a spiritual reflection.
Anyway, back to the reflection part. Okay, so I think I get a bit of a discount ah, because I only accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour when I was 11 or so…in that sense I’m a 12-13 year ‘old’ (read: young) Christian. Hehehe. So WHAT I was reflecting on was, whether as a Christian: have I actually done my part to share Christ to the people around me, throughout all these years?
Have I done my part for the people around me, who do not know Christ?
You see, if I have shared to one person a year, that would have been like what – 13 souls, I’ve sown the seeds into? Sometimes, I really wonder you know. I would think: “Oh no, what if I was the ONLY Christian that person has the opportunity to befriend/to get close with/to talk to?? NOOOOO! I blew it, I blew it!”
The person saw me make fun of the teacher when she wasn’t looking!
The person saw me yell at someone in anger.
The person saw me copy another person’s homework…
You all can relate or not? Haha. I honestly would like to think that for the moments in life where I have not been the best of examples, I really hope God has another Christian to show that person. HAIH.
I think you guys can see where I am going here. So…coming right back, to the main topic for this afternoon: Have you ever stopped what you’re doing to think of THAT?
To think of how much time / energy / effort you have channeled into sharing Christ, or sharing about your faith?
Now, the other day, I met up with my insurance agent for dinner. I buy my insurance from her, and so we were eating and talking. The conversation somehow steered into the topic of values, morality and religion. She asked me a couple of questions about Christianity and I started to share with her about church. She’s a freethinker, and somehow that night we started to talk about Christianity.
I didn’t go too deep. Just stuff like how an AG church functions, what we believe in, what we do and why we do it…basic stuff. Because she ask me how come she got one customer, doesn’t work but serves the church and somehow that person very ‘ho giak’ (Hokkien for ‘prosperous’). She was keen and interested, and listened intently to everything I said.
Okay now I have to admit it, that night – I felt like I had to share Christ with her. I didn’t do that exactly, BUT if that’s what a prompting feels like, I was sure I felt it that night. It’s a teensy bit unexplainable, but I felt like her soul just really wanted to know God. I felt like she was just wondering if there is a God in this world, and if there is one, is He real and is He for her? Where can she find this God?
So, did I share Christ to her? No I did not. (BOOOOOO! Blergh.) I should have. I shared this experience afterwards with Becky, and she told me next time when I feel that ‘prompting sensation’ again, just do it. But I just felt that it wasn’t quite right / maybe I didn’t want to come off as forceful, etc.? But I should have. More of us Christians have to understand that sharing Christ does not mean we force someone to accept it, BUT THAT THEY NEED and they deserve to hear the good news. We are ALL sinners, so us being saved and knowing Christ Jesus as our Lord and Saviour does not mean we are better than them, you know. WE ALL need to be saved by Jesus! And the fact that so many people around us – beloved friends and relatives who do not know the ‘Good News’ should burdened us, to a certain extent.
I hope one day I will get the opportunity to share again with her, and that I will be brave enough. She told me that she does not ‘do bad things’ and that it equals to doing good, so she’ll be ‘okay’. But is this what we are taught to believe?
Let me break it to you: NO ONE can save themselves. Only Jesus can. If we could save ourselves (get to Heaven) based on good works alone, Jesus didn’t have to come and die on a Cross to atone for the sin of humankind. He HAD TO, because we can’t wash away our sins through animal sacrifices, etc. but only through Jesus – through his blameless act of sacrifice, through his blood and God’s love.
Did you know that for a newborn baby, before he or she has done anything morally or legally ‘wrong’, they are already considered ‘sinners’. ONCE you are born, you’re a sinner. Because man is a fallen race. You born oledi, you IS a sinner!
There is REALLY NO perfect time to tell your friends about Christ. We share about Him out of love – it is like one of the conversations you NEED to have, but it’s not easy to have you know? But really, talking about our faith must be as easy as drinking water. When we do discussions later we’ll go into that a bit. There’s no perfect time, and we should follow the guiding and leading of the Holy Spirit. If we are prompted to, share. Remember that you’re just a mouthpiece. A vessel. If God is really opening up an opportunity for you to do it, do it. And remember ONE thing, it ain’t about you. If at the end of the day, if your friend comes to know the Lord and accept Him as his or her Lord and Saviour – COOL BEANS! Fantastic. Ding, ding, ding 100 points!
But it’s not about keeping score. It’s not a contest. It’s not who saved more souls. Hello, you are the vessel, but it is GOD, it is the Holy Spirit that does the saving!
It’s about the person coming to know God and embracing, accepting that he / she is a sinner, and that they need God in their lives. Conversion of religion isn’t the focus here, because accepting Jesus requires a change of HEART.
So, be encouraged – you may share to one person and they may response with a: “Thanks, but no thanks man.”, but you know what? YOU HAVE PLANTED A SEED. A seed! And you’ll never know with time and some watering (watering as in you praying for that person, other Christians along the way also share with him, him finding out more about ‘this Jesus’ on his own, etc.)…how that seed will flourish. Let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 3:6-7:
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
You see, don’t be burdened to do this on your own strength, it is God who will give the increase, the results, and not men. Remember this. Do your best, and God will do the rest. The thing is, we are all called to do that. We all know the Great Commandment found in Matthew 28:18-20:
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Make disciples and teach.
Wait are we all suppose to do this? Yes. You bet. And the commandment above comes with a good promise: “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” God is with you, as you share about Him to others!
Not everyone is called or will be called to be a missionary – you know go Africa lah, Cambodia lah, but everyone is certainly called to share. To witness. And sometimes your Mission field is here in Penang, in your school, in your home, maybe even next door or a few doors away. Don’t stop sowing and don’t stop planting. If you have not started, start today! 1 Peter 2:9 also instructs us very clearly:
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
“That you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” This part of 1 Peter 2:9 really shook something in me. We are called to speak about God’s goodness in our lives. And this simple act of expressing thankfulness, gratefulness and joy shows the people around us we acknowledge and know God is good, and that is our Provider. That there is SOMEONE out there, bigger and loving. Be thankful. Be joyful. Your friends will surely ask you: “Why you always so positive / happy one?” They will be curious. And these moments will open doors for you.
And the best way, the most practical way to preach Christ is through the way we live. When I was in Youth Impact, we were told by the Pastors and Youth Leaders to be ‘the Bible to someone’ or to be ‘the church’ to someone. You guys may know Matthew 5:16 (you all should know lah if you bought the #SALT tee):
In that same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
I’ve heard it before when I was a teenager like you and I’ll say it again – be a Bible to someone. You’ll never know that you might be the ‘only’ Bible they may ever get to ‘read’.
Have you tried sharing Jesus or witnessing to anyone around you? Your immediate circle would be of course, your friends and family members. I have prepared some bits of paper, and we are gonna break into groups to have a short discussion on this topic.
On the first blank space here – write your name. Then for the second statement, you can fill in your number and experience. Alright afterwards at the ‘bolded’ sentence – now that’s your goal for 2020! Okay, it’s time to break into groups, so let’s dive in.
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