I’ve never been to a place where people are so thirsty to hear the gospel. Not simply a sermon, not just an encouraging word, but the gospel. This past month we spent much of our time sharing the gospel door-to-door, at schools, and at churches. We often were asked questions on the side of the street. The common ones were: “Where are you from?”, “Why are you here?”, or “Hello friend, what is your name?”
While walking through the town market and talking with a grain vendor, one man’s question caught me off guard. “How do I repent of my sins?”
This day had been unique throughout. Just two hours prior to this man’s question, we were asked by a woman at a tomato stand to share the gospel. It was just Derik, Ben, myself, and pastor that morning. Derik stepped to the plate and began to share and by the end of his first sentence, a group of roughly 20 vendors had gathered. By the end, another 10 joined along with a handful of kids. Derik finished, and they asked for more. Ben jumped up and shared for about 10 minutes.
As he was finishing, our teammate Tiffany was walking by with another pastor, groceries in hand, and they asked for a word from her. Puzzled, she gave a short and powerful message. Lastly, I stepped in and shared a Psalm that was on my heart, and applied it to everything that was being said. Then, out of nowhere they broke out in worship and praise and dancing ensued! It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen, but amazing!
After lunch, we returned to the dusty market to hand out tracts. I was sharing a short bit about our trip with a family when a man tapped on my shoulder. He introduced himself and asked what we were doing there. When I told him I was a missionary, he timidly asked me: “How do I repent of my sins?” I smiled and shared with him how much God loves him and wants to be in a relationship with him.
He put his head down and said, “Yeah but I don’t think I can repent, I’m a drunk. I drink a lot of alcohol.” To his surprise I laughed. I shared with him how I used to party and drink without much control, how I used to live a life seeking pleasures, and how God completely has forgiven all of my sin. I shared how when we repent God has an abundance of forgiveness for us when we’re genuine about turning away from our sins.
He looked shocked. Then his disbelief turned into joy. His posture shifted from defeat to victory. He knew that he was a sinner; he knew that he was unclean. What I think people have failed to mention to him before is God’s enourmous love for him. I don’t think he ever knew that Jesus came to save the broken, not just the righteous.
I encouraged him to turn away from his sins, but also reminded him that God’s grace has him covered if he stumbles back into that. That’s not permission to keep sinning intentionally to make grace abound, but a reminder that there is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ.
He thanked me and nearly skipped away in joy over these profound truths. I take no credit for what happened that day. It was absolutely God’s plan, a divine appointment, and I just listened to what the Lord wanted me to share. This was one of my highlights from the past month in Zimbabwe.
Questions for the reader: Have you ever felt discouraged or condemned in church before? When and Why? Can you think of a time you felt encouraged by a friend or a pastor who shared amazing gospel truths with you?
If you’d like, message me with your answers to these questions and we can talk about it! If you have any questions for me, please e-mail me at [email protected]!
Zimbabwe is now finished and I’m pumped to see what he does this month here in Zambia. We will be working with kids as well as doing outreach and activities in town. Two more months of ministry before we return to the U.S!
Stay tuned for a few more blogs as we close out our journey around the world!
