Many people I met with were more than aware of their lack of knowledge of God and as such were embarrassed. Others felt guilty. For a lot of them the embarrassment and guilt set in when their children and grandchildren began to ask them questions about where they (the children) came from, how they were born, the creation of animals, flowers and the stars etc.
Children at a young age confirm the truth of New Testament Romans 1:19, which tells us the truth about God being known to us instinctively, because He Himself has put this knowledge in our hearts. That’s why children ask. They’re open and very teachable at such an age. I personally believe that it’s only later when their questions haven’t been satisfactorily answered, do they forget about it and move on to other things. Others didn’t talk about children or grandchildren but they expressed the same emotions, “because I should know more, I used to go to Sunday School.”
When I introduced myself and the purpose for my visit to some of the older ladies who answered their door, they would break down and cry softly in front of me. For those who wanted me to pray for them, I did so, often resulting in more tears. Always in such prayer however, I would ask that God demonstrate the reality of Himself to them in practical ways for their everyday living. I did this because I believe it is a powerful way for people to divorce themselves from faulty “religious” concepts of God. Always such people would close the door with a smile and a thank you.
This embarrassment and guilt showed up in church goers as well. Countless people told me they were Christians who “go to church without fail every Sunday,” yet admitted that they had very little knowledge of what the Bible had to tell them about God and the Lord Jesus Christ and what it meant for them. It seemed with most however, that it was easier for them to continue living with such emotions, rather than consider a new start. They were “very happy” with their minister, “even if he’s not a very good teacher or preacher.”
For others, these emotions triggered off anger and bitterness. The good works that some of these people were into was a source of comfort for them and they became deeply offended when challenged with the true gospel. The truth does hurt! On being told who and what I was, one lady slammed the door in my face and slammed another one inside the house! That too was testimony to the reality and power of Jesus Christ.
So was this. I mentioned that I was from the local church to one man, who then said, “I follow the Pope! Who’s your bloke? Who do you follow?” I said, “I follow the Lord Jesus Christ.” BANG! went his front door.
In the particular suburb of Melbourne, Australia where I did this work there are two Roman Catholic girl’s colleges and one boy’s college, one Presbyterian girl’s college and one Church of England girl’s college. The ignorance of God, Jesus Christ and the Bible among their students was rampant. Countless young people from those schools told me they knew of Jesus “of course,” but they had no idea of what He or His gospel message truly meant for them personally.
They would make comments such as, “our school teaches about all religions ” or, “we don’t do catholicness” or, “we’re learning about Buddha too” or, “my teacher says we should believe in all religions.” It seemed that these statements became embedded beliefs in the students minds, fitting in well with their newly founded forms of political correctness.
Given the size of the homes that they lived in and the number and quality of the cars in the driveway, it appeared that some people had “arrived” financially or, at the very least, were on the pathway to doing so. And in nearly all cases these same people were polite and well mannered as I stood at their door sharing Christ, but their eyes gave them away.
Looking into some of those eyes I could see a picture of unfulfillment, emptiness, fear, sadness, worry and quite often, guilt. It was a pleasure to talk about the reality and power of Jesus Christ to them. One man invited me inside to answer his questions about God, Jesus and the Bible, doing so for over an hour. At the end he genuinely wanted to know his purpose in it all, so he got down on his knees and asked Christ into his life. He didn’t want “religion” he wanted reality.
I met with two young people, Brett and Danni, who invited me inside. They told me they were living together as a couple, but not married. I told them that I was not there to make any judgements. He was a twenty-eight year old non-practicing Catholic, she was a non-practicing Anglican of similar age. Both these people were very sharp young intellectuals and asked a lot of very challenging questions about the accuracy and the validity of the Bible, based on their deep interests in science and evolution. The Holy Spirit of God was working through me and ministering to their needs and questions and they knew it. A hour or so later they said they were seriously thinking of turning back to Christ, but their living arrangements were of concern to them. I suggested they turn to back to Him anyway and that He would show them the next step.
I encouraged Brett and Danni not to wait until they thought they were “good enough” before they turned back to God, explaining that none of us are “good enough” – never have been – never will be. I left them with the thought that it was no coincidence that I’d called and that they’d invited me in to talk. Because of their background, they knew enough about God to agree with that statement. It was a pleasure to meet and talk with them. I never saw them again.
One man and his wife were going to their thirty-six year old son’s funeral on the day I spoke with them. The father told me his son had cancer, suffering it for many years. Neither he nor his wife showed any bitterness towards God, just apathy. I offered to pray briefly with them assuring them that God was going to give them His peace, but they declined.
In the space of fifty minutes I met an effeminate young man, two atheists, an alcoholic and a verbal abuser. In every case except for the abuser, God opened the spirits and minds of each person, meeting each one where they were at, not where I or anyone else thought they should be. The love, respect and honour God has for people as individuals is an amazing truth to witness.
A young mother in her thirties told me that both she and her husband didn’t give any thoughts to Jesus Christ, until the births of their two children, two and a half years earlier. It was then that things began to change within them simultaneously. Now they attend a church group and “we’re learning more and more about God, and our lives now have meaning and I wish we had both discovered this reality sooner.” ” But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name:” John 1:12.