A few days after the field trip to the mall, mentioned in a blog last week, my pastor friend and I were driving to San Antonio for more meetings. On the way, we stopped at a sports bar for lunch. After we ordered, my friend asked me if I got anything from God for our waitress. I said no, did you? He said he had a thought come into his mind that maybe she has trouble trusting men. I suggested we find out. When she came back with the food I said, “I know this sounds kind of crazy, but my friend here thinks God told him something about you. Would you mind if we ran it by you to see if he really did hear God?” She said sure. Bill said, “I think God told me that you have a serious problem trusting men.” She said, “Absolutely!”
At that moment, a thought came to me and I spoke it to her.
I said, “Right now you are living with a guy, but you are not married. He is very kind to you and he really loves your daughter. You think he may be the one for you and your daughter, but because of the abuse you have received from men you can’t trust him, but you want to.” She said, “Exactly!” I continued, “There is one man who will never abuse or misuse you. He is the perfectly safe man for you. If you get to know him, you will get over your trust issues and be able to trust a man again. His name is Jesus.”
On hearing this she said, “This is amazing!
There is this girl who works here who is always giving me these little books about Jesus! She says I have to get to know him! This is amazing!” I went into counselor mode. I said, “You need to spend more time with this girl and you need to read those little books and you need to get a good Bible that is easy to read.” She said she would.
Here is another example of natural and supernatural gifts working together to bring someone to Jesus.
Her need has created an opening.
Her co-worker has begun teaching her about Jesus. The prophetic words we brought to her brings experiential credibility to the words already spoken by her co-worker. Not only that, but now she has evidence that there is a God who cares enough about her life to send total strangers to tell her about her fears and her need to know Jesus. Wonderful!
Questions for Discussion: Let’s talk about this…
- I tear up when I read this. How does this story affect you? What is significant about it for you?
- This story illustrates both “natural” evangelism and “supernatural” evangelism. Which are you more comfortable with? Why?
- Most of us are more comfortable with “natural” evangelism, yet Jesus and the early church used supernatural evangelism most of the time. What would it take for you to start using supernatural evangelism more often?
Reluctantly Supernatural: In An Age of Reason 