Newsletter 14
Newsletter 14.
Contents.
O.L. 34. The seriousness of sin (Two methods).
O.L. 35. Sin grows rapidly (Two methods).
More classic comments - All from children.
More anecdotes from the doors.
Unusual answers.
Parting comments.
Do children need to be saved? - Evangelist Miller.
Evangelising Children.
Shortly after I sent out my last Newsletter where I shared my thoughts on inviting children to receive Christ, I received a challenging article from "Evangelist Miller" via the Singapore based Children's Pastors network. As this is a subject which I am sure concerns us all, I will paste on the article in full at the end of this newsletter. In brief, however, Mr. Miller is strongly if favour of child evangelism as I am sure most of us are. However, in New Zealand and Australia thousands of children's workers (including myself) are regularly allowed into State primary schools to teach the Christian faith. But we are not permitted to evangelise. Although not referring directly to this situation, Mr. Miller's article would question the benefits of this practice. I quote two paragraphs :-
"A second, educational philosophy, says that a child
should not be led in making a decision for Christ, but
rather given a Christian education with an opportunity
to develop Christian thinking and habits, assuming
that the child's natural choice one day will be to
follow Christ.
The first problem with this approach is that the
unregenerate can neither understand nor live spiritual
truths. I Corinthians 2:14 says, "The natural man does
not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they
are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned." If the unregenerated
child attempts to live the Christian life he will
fail. No matter how enthusiastic he may be at first,
he lacks the power the Holy Spirit gives to enable the
believer. He will become disillusioned and perhaps
hardened to spiritual things making him actually
harder to reach as he gets older."
The question for us then must be "Is Christian teaching (where evangelism is not allowed) likely to be a benefit or a hindrance to children in their ultimate acceptance or rejection of Christ?"
I would appreciate hearing any views you have on this subject.
Maurice Sweetsur.
34. The seriousness of sin.
Many children tend to categorise sin into big sins (e.g. murder) and little sins (e.g. a lie). Here are two illustrations you could use to help them understand that in God's sight all sin is serious.
a. Hold in one hand a crumpled piece of paper, and in the other a small but heavy object (e.g. a battery). Tell the children that the paper represents what many people think of as "little" sins like lying and swearing, and that the heavy object represents what many think of as "big" sins like murder and robbery. State that you are going to drop both objects to the floor at the same time. Ask the children which object they think will reach the floor first? Most should say the heavy object.
Drop both objects. They will reach the floor at the same time. (You may wish to repeat the exercise). State that sin is like that to God. The lighter or smaller sins are just as serious to Him as the weightier ones, for all wrongdoing is sin (1 John 5 v. 17).
b. Ask the children to imagine that both they and you are going to take a maths test where the pass mark is 100%. State that they - being really clever - get a mark of 98%, but that you - being not too good at maths - only manage 2%.
Ask the children how you have done - passed or failed? You have failed.
Ask the children how they have done - passed or failed? They also have failed.
Explain that although the children did much better than you in this imaginary test, they still failed. State that in life some people have led really led really bad lives and, rather like getting a mark of two out of a hundred, fall far short of God's standard, which is perfection. State that other people (give a few examples) have led wonderful lives, but no matter how good they have been they still come short of God's standard. Most people come somewhere between these two extremes, but the good news of the Gospel is that one man, Jesus, did lead a perfect life and reach God's standard. The even better news is that Jesus did it for us, and then died on the cross in our place, so that we could be forgiven - no matter how short of God's standard we have come.
35. Sin grows rapidly.
Children often fail to realise that sin, no matter how insignificant it appears at first, once we let it into our lives can grow very rapidly. Here are two illustrations to illustrate this.
a. Ask the children to imagine that they had a choice of receiving either $500 immediately, or 1 cent doubled every day for a month. Which would they choose? Most children will opt for the $500. Bad choice! If they had chosen the 1 cent doubled each day for a month, they would have ended up with over $5,000,000. (Work it out for yourself!). Sin grows rather like that. It may seem small and insignificant to start with, but left unchecked, it can rapidly grow to become a serious problem.
Alternative : A similar illustration can be used regarding witnessing. " If you told just one other person about Jesus today, and then tomorrow you both each told another person, and then the next day all four of you each told one other person, and you continued on like this. How long would it be before the entire world of about six billion people heard about Jesus? Answer: Just over a month! In contrast, if I, working alone, attempted to tell everybody in just Auckland (population 1 million) about Jesus at the rate of ten per day, it would still take me over 270 years to complete the task!
b. Have a volunteer come out and hold his arms outstretched. Produce a small length of wool, and tie it round the volunteer's wrists. Explain that this one twist of wool represents one sin (e.g. one lie). Ask the children to imagine that your volunteer told one lie, then realised what he had done was wrong and determined to break free from his sin and give up lying. Have your volunteer break free from the wool, which he will easily be able to do.
Repeat the above procedure, but this time produce a longer length of wool, and begin to wrap it around your volunteer's wrists, explaining that this time he did not give up his lying, but told another one to try and cover up his first, and then another, and another, etc. End up with about ten twists. Tie the length ends together. State that eventually your volunteer realised what he was doing, and decided to break free from his lies as before. But what happens this time? No matter how hard he struggles, he is unable to snap the wool and break free.
That is how sin works. The Bible says "He who sins is a slave to sin" (John 8 v. 34). Think for a moment what a slave is - someone who cannot do what he wants to do, and has to do what he doesn't want to do! If sin becomes a habit in your life (whether it is lying or something else), without help, it will be extremely hard to stop - even if you want to. The good news is that if we ask him, Jesus is able to break the power of sin in our life and, as the Bible says, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8 v. 36). Finally, produce a pair of scissors and set your volunteer free.
More Classic Comments.
(All from children.)
Teacher. "What do you have to be to go to heaven?"
Boy (aged 5). "Dead!"
"Jesus spoke in Aromatic."
"Mary and Joseph could not stay in the inn as it was Christmas, and it was full up."
"David fought the Philadelphian Giants."
"Noah's wife was Joan of Ark."
Teacher. "What did Jesus say to the girl He brought back to life?"
Child. "Wake up! Your dinner's ready!"
Teacher. "What did Jesus promise to make his twelve disciples into?"
Child. "Vicious old men." (Fishers of men!).
Teacher. "Who was the most sorry when the Prodigal son returned home?"
Child. "The fatted calf."
Teacher. "Does anyone know what a Prophet is?"
Child. "Yes. If I buy some lollies at $1, and sell them for $2, that will be a $1 prophet."
Teacher. "Which Commandment concerns how you should treat your parents?"
Child. "Honour your father and mother."
Teacher. "Good. Now which Commandment concerns how you should treat your brothers and sisters?"
Child. " Do not kill."
Teacher. "Give me another name for God?"
Child. "Harold."
Teacher. "Harold?"
Child. "Yes, the Lord's Prayer starts off ' Our Father, which art in heaven, Harold be thy name.' "
Teacher. "Give me another name for God?"
Child. "I think it is Peter. Christians are always saying ' Praise Peter (be to) God.' "
Teacher. "What did the wise men bring to baby Jesus?"
Child. "Gold, Frankenstein and mud."
Teacher. "If Moses were alive today, what would he be famous for?"
Child. "For being the oldest man in the world!"
Anecdotes from the doors (Part 2).
A number of people commentated on my previous "Anecdotes." As one person summed it up "If they weren't so sad, they would be funny." You should find that at least some of my present set are a little more encouraging.
Lady. "My mother became a Born Again Christian like you about a year ago."
Maurice. "Wonderful. Did you notice a change in her life?"
Lady. "Oh Yes. It has seemed to give her a whole new purpose to life."
Maurice. "Have you not considered becoming a Christian yourself then?"
Lady. "I did ask my mum to take me along to her church. But she told me to go and buy myself a hat first! I reminded her that I don't like hats, but she said that if I wasn't wearing a hat, I may not be allowed
in. And then she added that even if I was, I would be an embarrassment to her without my
having a hat on!"
Maurice. "So did you go to church?"
Lady. "No. I told my mother that in that case I wouldn't bother."
Lady. "I have enjoyed talking to you, and I will certainly read the John's Gospel that you have given me.
But I think you had better go now. My father is pacing about behind us. I can tell that he is getting
angry, and he may well come and throw a bucket of water over you!"
Unusual Answers.
When witnessing by means of the Christian survey form, many of the answers we got were somewhat predictable, though erroneous. For example, many people said that Jesus was "a good man" and that they would go to heaven because they were "Good." However, on occasions, people did come up with unusual and sometimes amusing answers. A few of them are recorded here.
1. Do you belong to a church, and how often do you attend its services?
Yes. I am a member of a church. But I haven't actually been to one of its services for about forty years.
2. What would encourage more people to go to church?
A. More weddings.
B. More people like you coming round to visit us.
C. Less preaching and more discos.
3. Who is Jesus?
A He is a state of your mind.
B. He is an Angel.
4. Would you like to know God personally?
A. Oh yes. If I could, I would shake his hand, and have a pint of beer with him.
B. It depends upon what He thinks about cannabis.
C. No. I enjoy life too much.
Parting Comments.
The extent to which people understand and respond to the Gospel can often be judged by their parting comments. Here are thirty of the more memorable ones.
1. I have enjoyed our conversation, but I am too old to change my ways.
2. Are you sure that you are not Jehovah's Witnesses?
3. When my son comes home, we will go up to his bedroom and together ask Jesus into our hearts.
4. I wish that my Minister spoke about Jesus the way that you do.
5. I never realised that Christians believed that Jesus was actually God.
6. I still don't believe the Bible when it speaks about hell. Hell is right here on earth. The next life is bound to be better.
7. You can leave some literature if you wish, but I won't have time to read it.
8. I can't spare you any more time. Coronation Street is about to begin on Television.
9. What you said was very interesting. But I am already good enough to go to heaven.
10. You won't have much success in this street - they are all sinners!
11. Will you go to my next door neighbour now and give him a good talking to - he pinches cabbages out of my garden!
12. I've understood completely what you have said, but I'm still not going to go to church.
13. If you Christians practiced what you say you believe, the world would be a much better place.
14. If God is really like the way you have described Him, then He is certainly well worth knowing.
15. I still don't understand why you came. You say you are not selling anything _ _ _ _ _ perhaps I could give you a donation for your church?
16. I am glad that you have found fulfilment in Christ, but it's not for me. I am happy just the way I am.
17. I don't need God in my life. I can provide all my own needs.
18. I still think that Christianity is just a crutch for weak-minded people.
19. I think you are wrong. God will judge me on how good I've been.
20. The Bible is full of contradictions. God cannot have written it.
21. You are not like other Christians. I really felt at ease while you were speaking. Please come back again.
22. I thought you were someone from the local Council doing a survey. If I had known you were from a church, I would never have spoken to you.
23. I once knew one of you Born-Again Christians at work. He made life miserable for everyone!
24. If God wants to save me, then He will. But He has not spoken to me yet.
25. I will never become a Christian. I enjoy life too much.
26. Christianity is not for me. I have enough troubles as it is.
27. I still can't believe that God cares about us. Otherwise He would not allow so much violence and injustice.
28. For the last hour all you have been saying is "God this ----, God that ---, and God the other ---." You have
been completely brain-washed!
29. Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses always seem to be knocking on my door, but you are the first person from the church who has called. Why is that?
30. Thanks for coming. I feel so relieved now that I have asked Jesus into my life.
Maurice Sweetsur.
Do children need to be saved? - Evangelist Miller.
First, there is a present situation that affects
children. Nearly one out of every four babies
conceived dies from abortion. 28% of those born are
illegitimate, starting life with a disadvantage.
The percentage of children living in single-parent
homes is three times higher than it was just thirty
years ago, 90% of those being without a father in the
home. The number of reported cases of child abuse is
steadily increasing. The amount of sex, violence and
antiChristian values depicted on television is at an
all time high and so is the number of hours watching
it. The national average is now over seven hours per
household. It's no wonder that grades are down while
the teen rate is the highest it has ever been. Fear of
crime has become our children's biggest worry.
Only Christ can give the children hope "in the midst
of a crooked and perverse generation." He is the only
source of true life in a world of crime and
immorality. And only with the changed life of today's
child can tomorrow's child be spared the same fate.
Children need to be evangelized for this to be.
But the eternal future of the child ought to motivate
us even more to evangelize.
In the parable of the lost sheep given in Matthew
18:11-14, Jesus identifies children as being lost,
straying and perishing unless they are saved. In Mark
10:14. He says, "Let the little children come to Me,
and do not forbid them." He implies that they need to
come to Him.
Hell is described in terrible terms. In Mark 9:44
Jesus quotes Isaiah in describing it as worms and fire
that never end. Matthew 8:12 talks of being cast into
"outer darkness." However, the most terrible thing
about Hell is being eternally separated from God. If
we refuse to evangelize children, we are condemning
them to a horrible future.
There is a stern warning on scripture to those who
would be complacent in evangelism. Ezekial actually
says that the sinner's blood will be on the hands of
the believer who does not warn him.
Challenges to Child Evangelism
Several philosophies that are held by some in society
that actually challenge the idea that children need to
be, or even can be evangelized.
A traditional philosophy says that a child in a
Christian home is not lost until he has use of reason
(usually set at about age twelve) because he is safe
under a covenant until that time. This philosophy is
based on false assumptions.
The first is that there is somewhere in Scripture a
covenant which exempts a person of the responsibility
of their sin until a certain age. The implication is
that a person is born safe and then must later make a
decision to either receive Christ or reject Him.
Scripture states that "he who does not believe is
condemned already." (John 3:18)
The other assumption is that children under twelve do
not have the use of reason.
A second, educational philosophy, says that a child
should not be led in making a decision for Christ, but
rather given a Christian education with an opportunity
to develop Christian thinking and habits, assuming
that the child's natural choice one day will be to
follow Christ.
The first problem with this approach is that the
unregenerate can neither understand nor live spiritual
truths. I Corinthians 2:14 says, "The natural man does
not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they
are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned." If the unregenerated
child attempts to live the Christian life he will
fail. No matter how enthusiastic he may be at first,
he lacks the power the Holy Spirit gives to enable the
believer. He will become disillusioned and perhaps
hardened to spiritual things making him actually
harder to reach as he gets older.
It is impossible to guarantee that anyone, even raised
in a Christian environment, will come to faith in
Christ. It has even been shown that the older one is,
the less likely it is that they will believe.
A third philosophy presenting itself an adversary to
child evangelism is based on modern psychological
thought. It contends that a child is incapable of
making a reasonable decision for Christ since he is
unable to comprehend symbolism and abstract concepts.
Nobody ever made a decision for Christ based on
reasoning. It is not that an unreasonable decision
must be made; faith in Christ is very reasonable. But
it is still a faith decision and not a reasoning
decision. Remember that to the "natural man ...the
things of the Spirit of God ...are foolishness."
Nobody comes to Christ with every question answered.
Salvation is a work of the Spirit of God, not a
function of the brain.
Even if we assume without argument that children
cannot grasp symbolism and abstract concepts, they are
still expressed in ways that are very real, if not
downright concrete. Love is an abstract concept, but
children love and know what they mean when they say,
"I love you."
Perhaps faith comes easier to a child precisely
because he is not as experienced as an adult in
reasoning why he should not submit to Christ.
The case from scripture
Even if there are good answers for these objections.
The case for child evangelism must be made. And it
must be made from scripture and shown in experience.
Fortunately, the Bible is not silent on the issue.
Jesus disciples asked Him, "Who then is greatest in
the kingdom of heaven?" (Matthew 18:1) Jesus responded
in a way that must have taken the disciples off guard.
He called a little child to Himself, took him in His
arms and sitting, as He always did when He taught,
answered their question.
His answer came in two parts, because there was a more
basic question that needed to be answered first: Who
will even be in the kingdom? The child was the model
for both.
In verse 3 Jesus told His disciples, "Unless you are
converted and become as little children, you will by
no means enter the kingdom of heaven." This thought is
echoed in Mark 10:14 when Jesus said, "Whoever does
not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will
by no means enter it." The word "convert" used in
Matthew is actually a strong form of a word referring
to change, not the usual Greek word used for spiritual
conversion. In other words, Jesus was telling the
disciples that they would have to be radically changed
and become like something they definitely were not at
that time just to make sure they would even make it
into the kingdom. They would have to become like
children. Then on top of that they would have to model
their humility after that of a child. Only then would
they be both in the kingdom and the greatest in it.
How ridiculous it would be for someone to agree that
Christ imposes these conditions on anyone who desires
greatness in His kingdom and then refuses kingdom
membership to those who He used as an example of these
qualities!
Jesus then went on not only to refer to "these little
ones who believe in Me" (Matthew 18:6) but also to
declare that, "Even so, it is not the will of your
Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones
should perish." (Matthew 18:14) Which little ones? The
little ones like the ones still in His arms. Not new
believers or He would have used a different Greek word
for children, a different model (or thrown his back
out taking a new believing adult in His arms,) and
would not have implied that they could perish.
What exactly was Jesus saying in Matthew 18:14? The
Bible does say that God is "not willing that any
should perish." (II Peter 3:9) Why did Jesus specify
children? Could Jesus have meant that not only is it
God's will that all are saved, but that they are saved
when they are children? How else could we guaranty
that no child perishes?
Jesus commanded His disciples to "Go into all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature." Never
is there an amendment given to the great commission
that proof of age be shown by those who wish to hear
the gospel.
Further evidence of children believers is given in
Paul's epistles. The children of those desiring to be
elders were to be believers. (Titus 3:5) And in both
Ephesians (6:1-3) and Colossians (3:20) children are
addressed as part of the whole body of believers to
whom the epistles are written.
Evidence from experience
I have seen many children come to faith in Christ in
more than 30 years of ministry. Some of them I have
personally had the privilege of being used by God to
bring them to Him. Many of them only 4 and 5 years
old.
Admittedly, it is unusual to hear of a three-year-old
making a decision to follow Christ. In fact, only one
percent of all believers claim to have been converted
before the age of four. However, these include such
esteemed believers as Amy Carmichael, missionary to
India, and Dr. James Dobson, who occasionally refers
to his conversion on his radio show "Focus on the
Family" as an event that he remembers like it was
yesterday. He says that he understood exactly what he
was doing.
The largest age group from which believers come is
four to fourteen years. 85% of all believers date
their conversions to that period.
The Bible tells us, "For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the
gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8,9) Note that it is by
only by grace from God exercised by Him that anyone is
saved. We are saved through faith, also a gift from
God but exercised by the individual. There is no
mention of intellect or reasoning as a condition of
salvation. "Not many wise according to the flesh, not
many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has
chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame
the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the
world to put to shame the things which are mighty." I
Corinthians 1:26,27
This does not mean you have to dispose of your brain
in order to become a Christian, but only that one does
not induce the work of regeneration through
intellectual reasoning.
I saw this in my own life. When first confronted with
the offer of salvation at age eleven I was a confirmed
atheist. (If a child does not believe in Christ, he
will believe in something.) When I finally surrendered
to Christ as Savior a little over a year later, it was
not because an apologist had given me thirty arguments
for the existence of God. God did a work in my heart.
After I was saved God immediately produce undeniable
evidence to me that He had indeed changed me in a
supernatural way.
The condition is faith alone in Christ alone. And the
most trusting, believing people in the world are
children. It's no wonder that it's the adults that
must be changed to become like children before they
can enter the kingdom of heaven and not the children
who must wait until they are adults.
So What?
So where does that leave the children workers. It
leaves us in no other position than to give the
evangelization of children a high priority in our
prayers, giving and in our out-reach programs
We must return to Matthew 18:11-14 and the parable of
the lost sheep for a model plan.
"If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes
astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to
the mountains to seek the one that is straying?"
Note that the shepherd did not wait for the sheep to
return. He did not send out a mass mailing. He did not
advertise special sheep meetings being held at the
fold. He did not redecorate to make it more
comfortable in hopes of attracting the lost sheep back
to the fold. He very simply went to where the lost
sheep was.
Amidst all the gimmicks, the best way is still to go
where the children are and preach the simple gospel in
a way that can be understood. - - - -
We must first realize that most unsaved children will
never make it into a church building where the gospel
is preached. We must then develop a plan for reaching
them where they are, in their own neighborhoods. This
can be accomplished through the believers that live
there. The problem has been that most believers are
not actively involved in evangelism. (I have heard the
figure 98%.) It is a problem of motivation.
Believers, out of a love for God, need to start making
the evangelization of children a priority.
If you are a believer, what are you doing now to
evangelize the children you come in contact with?
Contents.
O.L. 34. The seriousness of sin (Two methods).
O.L. 35. Sin grows rapidly (Two methods).
More classic comments - All from children.
More anecdotes from the doors.
Unusual answers.
Parting comments.
Do children need to be saved? - Evangelist Miller.
Evangelising Children.
Shortly after I sent out my last Newsletter where I shared my thoughts on inviting children to receive Christ, I received a challenging article from "Evangelist Miller" via the Singapore based Children's Pastors network. As this is a subject which I am sure concerns us all, I will paste on the article in full at the end of this newsletter. In brief, however, Mr. Miller is strongly if favour of child evangelism as I am sure most of us are. However, in New Zealand and Australia thousands of children's workers (including myself) are regularly allowed into State primary schools to teach the Christian faith. But we are not permitted to evangelise. Although not referring directly to this situation, Mr. Miller's article would question the benefits of this practice. I quote two paragraphs :-
"A second, educational philosophy, says that a child
should not be led in making a decision for Christ, but
rather given a Christian education with an opportunity
to develop Christian thinking and habits, assuming
that the child's natural choice one day will be to
follow Christ.
The first problem with this approach is that the
unregenerate can neither understand nor live spiritual
truths. I Corinthians 2:14 says, "The natural man does
not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they
are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned." If the unregenerated
child attempts to live the Christian life he will
fail. No matter how enthusiastic he may be at first,
he lacks the power the Holy Spirit gives to enable the
believer. He will become disillusioned and perhaps
hardened to spiritual things making him actually
harder to reach as he gets older."
The question for us then must be "Is Christian teaching (where evangelism is not allowed) likely to be a benefit or a hindrance to children in their ultimate acceptance or rejection of Christ?"
I would appreciate hearing any views you have on this subject.
Maurice Sweetsur.
34. The seriousness of sin.
Many children tend to categorise sin into big sins (e.g. murder) and little sins (e.g. a lie). Here are two illustrations you could use to help them understand that in God's sight all sin is serious.
a. Hold in one hand a crumpled piece of paper, and in the other a small but heavy object (e.g. a battery). Tell the children that the paper represents what many people think of as "little" sins like lying and swearing, and that the heavy object represents what many think of as "big" sins like murder and robbery. State that you are going to drop both objects to the floor at the same time. Ask the children which object they think will reach the floor first? Most should say the heavy object.
Drop both objects. They will reach the floor at the same time. (You may wish to repeat the exercise). State that sin is like that to God. The lighter or smaller sins are just as serious to Him as the weightier ones, for all wrongdoing is sin (1 John 5 v. 17).
b. Ask the children to imagine that both they and you are going to take a maths test where the pass mark is 100%. State that they - being really clever - get a mark of 98%, but that you - being not too good at maths - only manage 2%.
Ask the children how you have done - passed or failed? You have failed.
Ask the children how they have done - passed or failed? They also have failed.
Explain that although the children did much better than you in this imaginary test, they still failed. State that in life some people have led really led really bad lives and, rather like getting a mark of two out of a hundred, fall far short of God's standard, which is perfection. State that other people (give a few examples) have led wonderful lives, but no matter how good they have been they still come short of God's standard. Most people come somewhere between these two extremes, but the good news of the Gospel is that one man, Jesus, did lead a perfect life and reach God's standard. The even better news is that Jesus did it for us, and then died on the cross in our place, so that we could be forgiven - no matter how short of God's standard we have come.
35. Sin grows rapidly.
Children often fail to realise that sin, no matter how insignificant it appears at first, once we let it into our lives can grow very rapidly. Here are two illustrations to illustrate this.
a. Ask the children to imagine that they had a choice of receiving either $500 immediately, or 1 cent doubled every day for a month. Which would they choose? Most children will opt for the $500. Bad choice! If they had chosen the 1 cent doubled each day for a month, they would have ended up with over $5,000,000. (Work it out for yourself!). Sin grows rather like that. It may seem small and insignificant to start with, but left unchecked, it can rapidly grow to become a serious problem.
Alternative : A similar illustration can be used regarding witnessing. " If you told just one other person about Jesus today, and then tomorrow you both each told another person, and then the next day all four of you each told one other person, and you continued on like this. How long would it be before the entire world of about six billion people heard about Jesus? Answer: Just over a month! In contrast, if I, working alone, attempted to tell everybody in just Auckland (population 1 million) about Jesus at the rate of ten per day, it would still take me over 270 years to complete the task!
b. Have a volunteer come out and hold his arms outstretched. Produce a small length of wool, and tie it round the volunteer's wrists. Explain that this one twist of wool represents one sin (e.g. one lie). Ask the children to imagine that your volunteer told one lie, then realised what he had done was wrong and determined to break free from his sin and give up lying. Have your volunteer break free from the wool, which he will easily be able to do.
Repeat the above procedure, but this time produce a longer length of wool, and begin to wrap it around your volunteer's wrists, explaining that this time he did not give up his lying, but told another one to try and cover up his first, and then another, and another, etc. End up with about ten twists. Tie the length ends together. State that eventually your volunteer realised what he was doing, and decided to break free from his lies as before. But what happens this time? No matter how hard he struggles, he is unable to snap the wool and break free.
That is how sin works. The Bible says "He who sins is a slave to sin" (John 8 v. 34). Think for a moment what a slave is - someone who cannot do what he wants to do, and has to do what he doesn't want to do! If sin becomes a habit in your life (whether it is lying or something else), without help, it will be extremely hard to stop - even if you want to. The good news is that if we ask him, Jesus is able to break the power of sin in our life and, as the Bible says, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8 v. 36). Finally, produce a pair of scissors and set your volunteer free.
More Classic Comments.
(All from children.)
Teacher. "What do you have to be to go to heaven?"
Boy (aged 5). "Dead!"
"Jesus spoke in Aromatic."
"Mary and Joseph could not stay in the inn as it was Christmas, and it was full up."
"David fought the Philadelphian Giants."
"Noah's wife was Joan of Ark."
Teacher. "What did Jesus say to the girl He brought back to life?"
Child. "Wake up! Your dinner's ready!"
Teacher. "What did Jesus promise to make his twelve disciples into?"
Child. "Vicious old men." (Fishers of men!).
Teacher. "Who was the most sorry when the Prodigal son returned home?"
Child. "The fatted calf."
Teacher. "Does anyone know what a Prophet is?"
Child. "Yes. If I buy some lollies at $1, and sell them for $2, that will be a $1 prophet."
Teacher. "Which Commandment concerns how you should treat your parents?"
Child. "Honour your father and mother."
Teacher. "Good. Now which Commandment concerns how you should treat your brothers and sisters?"
Child. " Do not kill."
Teacher. "Give me another name for God?"
Child. "Harold."
Teacher. "Harold?"
Child. "Yes, the Lord's Prayer starts off ' Our Father, which art in heaven, Harold be thy name.' "
Teacher. "Give me another name for God?"
Child. "I think it is Peter. Christians are always saying ' Praise Peter (be to) God.' "
Teacher. "What did the wise men bring to baby Jesus?"
Child. "Gold, Frankenstein and mud."
Teacher. "If Moses were alive today, what would he be famous for?"
Child. "For being the oldest man in the world!"
Anecdotes from the doors (Part 2).
A number of people commentated on my previous "Anecdotes." As one person summed it up "If they weren't so sad, they would be funny." You should find that at least some of my present set are a little more encouraging.
Lady. "My mother became a Born Again Christian like you about a year ago."
Maurice. "Wonderful. Did you notice a change in her life?"
Lady. "Oh Yes. It has seemed to give her a whole new purpose to life."
Maurice. "Have you not considered becoming a Christian yourself then?"
Lady. "I did ask my mum to take me along to her church. But she told me to go and buy myself a hat first! I reminded her that I don't like hats, but she said that if I wasn't wearing a hat, I may not be allowed
in. And then she added that even if I was, I would be an embarrassment to her without my
having a hat on!"
Maurice. "So did you go to church?"
Lady. "No. I told my mother that in that case I wouldn't bother."
Lady. "I have enjoyed talking to you, and I will certainly read the John's Gospel that you have given me.
But I think you had better go now. My father is pacing about behind us. I can tell that he is getting
angry, and he may well come and throw a bucket of water over you!"
Unusual Answers.
When witnessing by means of the Christian survey form, many of the answers we got were somewhat predictable, though erroneous. For example, many people said that Jesus was "a good man" and that they would go to heaven because they were "Good." However, on occasions, people did come up with unusual and sometimes amusing answers. A few of them are recorded here.
1. Do you belong to a church, and how often do you attend its services?
Yes. I am a member of a church. But I haven't actually been to one of its services for about forty years.
2. What would encourage more people to go to church?
A. More weddings.
B. More people like you coming round to visit us.
C. Less preaching and more discos.
3. Who is Jesus?
A He is a state of your mind.
B. He is an Angel.
4. Would you like to know God personally?
A. Oh yes. If I could, I would shake his hand, and have a pint of beer with him.
B. It depends upon what He thinks about cannabis.
C. No. I enjoy life too much.
Parting Comments.
The extent to which people understand and respond to the Gospel can often be judged by their parting comments. Here are thirty of the more memorable ones.
1. I have enjoyed our conversation, but I am too old to change my ways.
2. Are you sure that you are not Jehovah's Witnesses?
3. When my son comes home, we will go up to his bedroom and together ask Jesus into our hearts.
4. I wish that my Minister spoke about Jesus the way that you do.
5. I never realised that Christians believed that Jesus was actually God.
6. I still don't believe the Bible when it speaks about hell. Hell is right here on earth. The next life is bound to be better.
7. You can leave some literature if you wish, but I won't have time to read it.
8. I can't spare you any more time. Coronation Street is about to begin on Television.
9. What you said was very interesting. But I am already good enough to go to heaven.
10. You won't have much success in this street - they are all sinners!
11. Will you go to my next door neighbour now and give him a good talking to - he pinches cabbages out of my garden!
12. I've understood completely what you have said, but I'm still not going to go to church.
13. If you Christians practiced what you say you believe, the world would be a much better place.
14. If God is really like the way you have described Him, then He is certainly well worth knowing.
15. I still don't understand why you came. You say you are not selling anything _ _ _ _ _ perhaps I could give you a donation for your church?
16. I am glad that you have found fulfilment in Christ, but it's not for me. I am happy just the way I am.
17. I don't need God in my life. I can provide all my own needs.
18. I still think that Christianity is just a crutch for weak-minded people.
19. I think you are wrong. God will judge me on how good I've been.
20. The Bible is full of contradictions. God cannot have written it.
21. You are not like other Christians. I really felt at ease while you were speaking. Please come back again.
22. I thought you were someone from the local Council doing a survey. If I had known you were from a church, I would never have spoken to you.
23. I once knew one of you Born-Again Christians at work. He made life miserable for everyone!
24. If God wants to save me, then He will. But He has not spoken to me yet.
25. I will never become a Christian. I enjoy life too much.
26. Christianity is not for me. I have enough troubles as it is.
27. I still can't believe that God cares about us. Otherwise He would not allow so much violence and injustice.
28. For the last hour all you have been saying is "God this ----, God that ---, and God the other ---." You have
been completely brain-washed!
29. Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses always seem to be knocking on my door, but you are the first person from the church who has called. Why is that?
30. Thanks for coming. I feel so relieved now that I have asked Jesus into my life.
Maurice Sweetsur.
Do children need to be saved? - Evangelist Miller.
First, there is a present situation that affects
children. Nearly one out of every four babies
conceived dies from abortion. 28% of those born are
illegitimate, starting life with a disadvantage.
The percentage of children living in single-parent
homes is three times higher than it was just thirty
years ago, 90% of those being without a father in the
home. The number of reported cases of child abuse is
steadily increasing. The amount of sex, violence and
antiChristian values depicted on television is at an
all time high and so is the number of hours watching
it. The national average is now over seven hours per
household. It's no wonder that grades are down while
the teen rate is the highest it has ever been. Fear of
crime has become our children's biggest worry.
Only Christ can give the children hope "in the midst
of a crooked and perverse generation." He is the only
source of true life in a world of crime and
immorality. And only with the changed life of today's
child can tomorrow's child be spared the same fate.
Children need to be evangelized for this to be.
But the eternal future of the child ought to motivate
us even more to evangelize.
In the parable of the lost sheep given in Matthew
18:11-14, Jesus identifies children as being lost,
straying and perishing unless they are saved. In Mark
10:14. He says, "Let the little children come to Me,
and do not forbid them." He implies that they need to
come to Him.
Hell is described in terrible terms. In Mark 9:44
Jesus quotes Isaiah in describing it as worms and fire
that never end. Matthew 8:12 talks of being cast into
"outer darkness." However, the most terrible thing
about Hell is being eternally separated from God. If
we refuse to evangelize children, we are condemning
them to a horrible future.
There is a stern warning on scripture to those who
would be complacent in evangelism. Ezekial actually
says that the sinner's blood will be on the hands of
the believer who does not warn him.
Challenges to Child Evangelism
Several philosophies that are held by some in society
that actually challenge the idea that children need to
be, or even can be evangelized.
A traditional philosophy says that a child in a
Christian home is not lost until he has use of reason
(usually set at about age twelve) because he is safe
under a covenant until that time. This philosophy is
based on false assumptions.
The first is that there is somewhere in Scripture a
covenant which exempts a person of the responsibility
of their sin until a certain age. The implication is
that a person is born safe and then must later make a
decision to either receive Christ or reject Him.
Scripture states that "he who does not believe is
condemned already." (John 3:18)
The other assumption is that children under twelve do
not have the use of reason.
A second, educational philosophy, says that a child
should not be led in making a decision for Christ, but
rather given a Christian education with an opportunity
to develop Christian thinking and habits, assuming
that the child's natural choice one day will be to
follow Christ.
The first problem with this approach is that the
unregenerate can neither understand nor live spiritual
truths. I Corinthians 2:14 says, "The natural man does
not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they
are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned." If the unregenerated
child attempts to live the Christian life he will
fail. No matter how enthusiastic he may be at first,
he lacks the power the Holy Spirit gives to enable the
believer. He will become disillusioned and perhaps
hardened to spiritual things making him actually
harder to reach as he gets older.
It is impossible to guarantee that anyone, even raised
in a Christian environment, will come to faith in
Christ. It has even been shown that the older one is,
the less likely it is that they will believe.
A third philosophy presenting itself an adversary to
child evangelism is based on modern psychological
thought. It contends that a child is incapable of
making a reasonable decision for Christ since he is
unable to comprehend symbolism and abstract concepts.
Nobody ever made a decision for Christ based on
reasoning. It is not that an unreasonable decision
must be made; faith in Christ is very reasonable. But
it is still a faith decision and not a reasoning
decision. Remember that to the "natural man ...the
things of the Spirit of God ...are foolishness."
Nobody comes to Christ with every question answered.
Salvation is a work of the Spirit of God, not a
function of the brain.
Even if we assume without argument that children
cannot grasp symbolism and abstract concepts, they are
still expressed in ways that are very real, if not
downright concrete. Love is an abstract concept, but
children love and know what they mean when they say,
"I love you."
Perhaps faith comes easier to a child precisely
because he is not as experienced as an adult in
reasoning why he should not submit to Christ.
The case from scripture
Even if there are good answers for these objections.
The case for child evangelism must be made. And it
must be made from scripture and shown in experience.
Fortunately, the Bible is not silent on the issue.
Jesus disciples asked Him, "Who then is greatest in
the kingdom of heaven?" (Matthew 18:1) Jesus responded
in a way that must have taken the disciples off guard.
He called a little child to Himself, took him in His
arms and sitting, as He always did when He taught,
answered their question.
His answer came in two parts, because there was a more
basic question that needed to be answered first: Who
will even be in the kingdom? The child was the model
for both.
In verse 3 Jesus told His disciples, "Unless you are
converted and become as little children, you will by
no means enter the kingdom of heaven." This thought is
echoed in Mark 10:14 when Jesus said, "Whoever does
not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will
by no means enter it." The word "convert" used in
Matthew is actually a strong form of a word referring
to change, not the usual Greek word used for spiritual
conversion. In other words, Jesus was telling the
disciples that they would have to be radically changed
and become like something they definitely were not at
that time just to make sure they would even make it
into the kingdom. They would have to become like
children. Then on top of that they would have to model
their humility after that of a child. Only then would
they be both in the kingdom and the greatest in it.
How ridiculous it would be for someone to agree that
Christ imposes these conditions on anyone who desires
greatness in His kingdom and then refuses kingdom
membership to those who He used as an example of these
qualities!
Jesus then went on not only to refer to "these little
ones who believe in Me" (Matthew 18:6) but also to
declare that, "Even so, it is not the will of your
Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones
should perish." (Matthew 18:14) Which little ones? The
little ones like the ones still in His arms. Not new
believers or He would have used a different Greek word
for children, a different model (or thrown his back
out taking a new believing adult in His arms,) and
would not have implied that they could perish.
What exactly was Jesus saying in Matthew 18:14? The
Bible does say that God is "not willing that any
should perish." (II Peter 3:9) Why did Jesus specify
children? Could Jesus have meant that not only is it
God's will that all are saved, but that they are saved
when they are children? How else could we guaranty
that no child perishes?
Jesus commanded His disciples to "Go into all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature." Never
is there an amendment given to the great commission
that proof of age be shown by those who wish to hear
the gospel.
Further evidence of children believers is given in
Paul's epistles. The children of those desiring to be
elders were to be believers. (Titus 3:5) And in both
Ephesians (6:1-3) and Colossians (3:20) children are
addressed as part of the whole body of believers to
whom the epistles are written.
Evidence from experience
I have seen many children come to faith in Christ in
more than 30 years of ministry. Some of them I have
personally had the privilege of being used by God to
bring them to Him. Many of them only 4 and 5 years
old.
Admittedly, it is unusual to hear of a three-year-old
making a decision to follow Christ. In fact, only one
percent of all believers claim to have been converted
before the age of four. However, these include such
esteemed believers as Amy Carmichael, missionary to
India, and Dr. James Dobson, who occasionally refers
to his conversion on his radio show "Focus on the
Family" as an event that he remembers like it was
yesterday. He says that he understood exactly what he
was doing.
The largest age group from which believers come is
four to fourteen years. 85% of all believers date
their conversions to that period.
The Bible tells us, "For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the
gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8,9) Note that it is by
only by grace from God exercised by Him that anyone is
saved. We are saved through faith, also a gift from
God but exercised by the individual. There is no
mention of intellect or reasoning as a condition of
salvation. "Not many wise according to the flesh, not
many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has
chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame
the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the
world to put to shame the things which are mighty." I
Corinthians 1:26,27
This does not mean you have to dispose of your brain
in order to become a Christian, but only that one does
not induce the work of regeneration through
intellectual reasoning.
I saw this in my own life. When first confronted with
the offer of salvation at age eleven I was a confirmed
atheist. (If a child does not believe in Christ, he
will believe in something.) When I finally surrendered
to Christ as Savior a little over a year later, it was
not because an apologist had given me thirty arguments
for the existence of God. God did a work in my heart.
After I was saved God immediately produce undeniable
evidence to me that He had indeed changed me in a
supernatural way.
The condition is faith alone in Christ alone. And the
most trusting, believing people in the world are
children. It's no wonder that it's the adults that
must be changed to become like children before they
can enter the kingdom of heaven and not the children
who must wait until they are adults.
So What?
So where does that leave the children workers. It
leaves us in no other position than to give the
evangelization of children a high priority in our
prayers, giving and in our out-reach programs
We must return to Matthew 18:11-14 and the parable of
the lost sheep for a model plan.
"If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes
astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to
the mountains to seek the one that is straying?"
Note that the shepherd did not wait for the sheep to
return. He did not send out a mass mailing. He did not
advertise special sheep meetings being held at the
fold. He did not redecorate to make it more
comfortable in hopes of attracting the lost sheep back
to the fold. He very simply went to where the lost
sheep was.
Amidst all the gimmicks, the best way is still to go
where the children are and preach the simple gospel in
a way that can be understood. - - - -
We must first realize that most unsaved children will
never make it into a church building where the gospel
is preached. We must then develop a plan for reaching
them where they are, in their own neighborhoods. This
can be accomplished through the believers that live
there. The problem has been that most believers are
not actively involved in evangelism. (I have heard the
figure 98%.) It is a problem of motivation.
Believers, out of a love for God, need to start making
the evangelization of children a priority.
If you are a believer, what are you doing now to
evangelize the children you come in contact with?
posted by Maurice Sweetsur @ 1:17 AM
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