This is a story from month 8 during our time in South Africa.
During orientation, our ministry host looked each one of us in the eye and told us he believed that we would all lead someone to the Lord and witness a healing. This made me so expectant for what the Lord was going to do during our time in Joburg!
Later that day, I was thinking about what he said to us, and I realized that I had shared the Gospel with many people, but I had never led someone through the prayer of salvation. I knew that I would get the opportunity to, so I asked the Lord for boldness whenever the opportunity came.
Fast forward to week two of our time at Impact Africa, my team got the opportunity to do ministry with Impact Baby Rescue, which is one of their ministries that informs women about what an abortion is, alternative options, and provides a safe place for them to drop their babies off if they choose to not keep them. We went to a clinic that provides check ups for pregnant women. We were told to meet women, get to know them, build a relationship and share the Gospel.
My teammate Kristine and I were walking together, asking the Holy Spirit whom He wanted us to talk to, we saw three ladies sitting together and we looked at each other and knew that’s who He wanted us to go talk to.
So we walked over & asked if they spoke English. They did! Thank you Jesus. We introduced ourselves and asked if we could sit and chat with them. They were so welcoming. We got to know a little about each of them. One of the ladies had to leave for her check up. Shortly after, another one had to leave for her check up, and we were left with the one lady.
We continued chatting with her about life. We talked about her pregnancy and how excited she was, about her boyfriend, how she likes to sing, and just really got to know her. I got to share my testimony with her. Kristine got to share parts of her story. We spent a lot of time getting to see her how God sees her and then we got to share that with her. She had heard of Jesus but didn’t really know much about Him.
This is where the Holy Spirit completely took over the conversation because I don’t remember much of what I said to her, but I do know that I told her who Jesus is and I shared the Gospel with her. I told her how Jesus has changed my life. I got to tell her how much Jesus loves her and how faithful He is. I asked her if she understood everything I said and she said she did. So I asked her if she wanted to make the decision to make Jesus the Lord of her life, and she said yes! I got to lead her through the salvation prayer! The first person I’ve ever led to the Lord!!! We rejoiced & celebrated with the angels in Heaven after she made this life changing decision!
As I was processing and trying to figure out how to put what had happened into words, the Lord reminded me of the story of the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15:4-7.
“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and goes after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
She was the ONE. The Lord sent us to her to call her home and she responded and welcomed Jesus into her heart. Praise The Lord!!!
Now I want to go back to the parable & I want to tell you some good news…
Jesus loves you, yes YOU, so much!
And because He loves you so much, He didn’t want to be separated from you, so He sent Jesus, His one and only Son to earth, to live a perfect life. Jesus was fully man and fully God. He healed the sick, raised the dead, ate with sinners, did life with the twelve disciples, and so much more during His 33 years. Then He was beaten and hung on a cross to die for you and me. He took the weight of the world and nailed it to the cross where His blood poured out and covered every sin that you and I will ever commit. Then He was buried. But the story doesn’t end there, you see the best part is that three days later He rose from the dead! He defeated sin and death! And when He died on the cross Jesus bridged the gap between us and God. Through believing in His Son Jesus Christ, we are able to have a relationship with God again.
The Bible tells us in Romans 10:9-10 that, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
It’s very simple. You just have to confess with your mouth and believe in your heart, and the Bible says that you will be saved.
There’s nothing that we can do to earn salvation. We could never do enough “good” things to get into Heaven.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not you’re own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
We are saved by making Jesus our Lord and inviting Him into our heart. Salvation is a free gift and God is a gentleman, He gives us a choice, to either receive this gift or to not. But if you choose to, I promise it will be the greatest decision you will ever make.
**I want to give you a chance to respond. If you’ve never made the decision to make Jesus the Lord of your life, but you feel a nudge right now as you’re reading this, I would love for you to make that decision right now! & if you have any questions please reach out to me by commenting on this blog or emailing me ([email protected]). I would love to chat and answer any questions or further explain if you need it!**
Recklessly,
Madison
