While having lunch with a new friend, I have never seen such a clear picture of relationship vs. religion and the way the world will react to it.
During our lunch, the waitress let us see a bit of her struggle. She had a son that she was concerned about. He was making poor choices, surrounding himself with bad influences, and starting to pull away from his family. She was very open to share and very grateful for the compassion she was receiving.
Before we ate, I asked her if she would share his name because we wanted to pray for him. That is when she did something I had never seen before. After telling me his name, she got down on her knees (in the restaurant where she worked with the employees and customers looking on), she folded her hands, put her elbows on the table, and closed her eyes.
I had a couple of thoughts... “she hasn’t prayed since she was four” and “she is desperate for help”.
After praying for her and her son, she stood up and continued the conversation. As I was telling her that God was with her and cared about her and her son, she leaned in... but then religion took over. She was very receptive to hearing about all that God/Jesus offers, but the gentleman that I was with started to project shame and judgment on her, and she couldn’t get away fast enough.
Interrupting me as I led her towards an understanding that God loved her and had a plan for her life, my companion said, “You know what...if you want your son to make good choices, you are going to have to make good choices too. If you want him to go to meet good friends, you are going to have to take him to church. Whether or not he goes with you, you need to start going. Time you start living right and giving him an example to follow.”
She went from leaning in to running away...why? Because Religion tried to win her instead of relationship.
I want to be a part of this amazing move TOWARD Jesus:
If you are like me, you want to be a part of seeing a significant move toward Jesus. So, what might that look like, and how can we participate? How can we influence those in our families (kids and grandkids), our businesses, and our communities to see Jesus as He truly is? Let’s explore a couple of suggestions that will put us right in the middle of what God is doing.
Pray: As basic as it sounds, it all starts with prayer. “Lord, rescue the lost, help the hurting, awaken the church, captivate our hearts” is a foundational prayer we can pray to get our hearts right and to ask God to move in our hearts as well as the hearts of those around us.
As we pray, ask with expectation. Habakkuk 3:2 is a favorite of mine...paraphrased it says, “God, you are amazing, we have heard of your great works...do them again. Do them now. We want to see it in our time.”Encourage: Why is it that as Christ followers we want to be the gatekeepers instead of the encouragers? We point out what we don’t like, or we are not comfortable with instead of highlighting what we are grateful for.
I have learned that God doesn’t often use skeptics and people who are waiting to point out the problem. He uses people who lift-up the solution (Jesus) and encourage others to pursue Him.
In our families, communities, and places of work, may we encourage those who need Him, reminding them that He has not forgotten them. And, may we applaud those who are seeking Jesus.Lift up Jesus: Jesus is at the center of this movement and momentum, and He should be. When He is lifted up, He will draw men/women to Himself (John 12:32). May we never make it about our church, denomination, or favorite preacher. May we point to Him as the answer to every meaningful question, the source of all hope, and the giver of peace. After, all, He is the way, the truth, and the life...and the ONLY way to get to the Father.
Love Jesus authentically yourself: Scripture says that we should be ready to give an answer to the hope that we have (I Peter 3:15), but may it not just be something that is rehearsed. May it be something that you live.
He is our future and our salvation, but He is also our hope, our peace, and foundation, here and now. If we want to encourage others to seek Him, they must see us seeking Him first. If we want them to have a passion for Him, then He must be our passion first.
It starts with submission and pursuit. Personally, we must desire to live for Him and walk with Him, and there is no better way to deepen that relationship than as we personally pursue Him daily.
The times that they can’t see you running after Him will influence what they can see in you. It is in those moments when that authentic relationship becomes more meaningful to you and more visible to them.
In our nation, there are some amazing things stirring. A hunger is growing. In the midst of darkness, light is starting to shine.
You can see it on college campuses across the nation and in churches. People are worshipping longer, praying harder, and pursuing the presence of Jesus more aggressively.
But you also see it in culture. More people are coming to faith in the United States right now than ever before. Last year alone, at Groundwire, we saw 533,414 people walk the virtual aisle to profess faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
Jesus is impossible to resist...and these are exciting times.
Sean Dunn loves Jesus with all his heart and has been serving Him in full-time ministry for the past 34 years. He began serving in local church youth ministries, and in 1997 started traveling full-time as a speaker and author. After praying and studying trends and culture in search of a way to reach people who don’t want to be reached and won’t step foot in a church, the strategy for Groundwire was born. As the founder and President of Groundwire, Sean has combined his calling as an evangelist with his gifting as an innovative entrepreneur. He is focused on creatively and effectively communicating God’s Word, Love, and Purpose to every young person. Through his leadership, Groundwire has grown to be one of the most influential and efficient evangelistic outreach ministries in the US, leveraging media and technology in order to share the love found in Jesus Christ with youth and young adults. The ministry saw 534,795 profess faith in Jesus Christ in the year 2022, realizing its first one million since 2017.