One Thing You Can't Do in Heaven

Alert Focus: The Gospel Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." Posted on CHRISTIANWORLDVIEWNETWORK.com - By Mark Cahill "Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor." -Charles Haddon Spurgeon South Beach, Miami, Florida. If you have never been there, it is truly an amazing place. Beach, sun, sand, tans, Lamborghinis, drinking, drugs, nightlife, and sin is what South Beach is all about. It is wild, it is crazy, and it is America's version of Sodom and Gomorrah. And I just love going there! I know that sounds strange, but I try to get to South Beach at least once a year. The spiritual darkness there is unbelievable. So many people are hurting, and they are looking for truth and love. As a matter of fact, it is so dark there that it is easy for a believer's light to shine very brightly. A couple of years ago I was in South Beach witnessing. I like to hit the streets around 8:00 p.m. and stay until about 4:00 a.m. It makes for an interesting, but very long, evening. One night as I was walking along a street, I saw a young woman sitting on top of a newspaper stand. I approached her and struck up a conversation, then I asked her this question: "When you die, what do you think is on the other side?" She gave me a most interesting answer: "A whole bunch of naked women." I have heard that answer from guys before, but never from a girl! As we talked, I learned that she was a seventeen-year-old Jewish girl who was struggling with lesbianism. She opened up, and had a lot of very in-depth questions about God and sin. She had really thought about the eternal side of life. About halfway through the conversation, she admitted that her curfew was midnight; it was now 12:40 in the morning. She explained that, as she was driving home to arrive before her curfew, something in her mind told her not to go home, but to go to South Beach instead. So she did. She then pointed a finger at me and said, "You are the whole reason that I came to South Beach tonight!" My jaw almost hit the concrete. We typically think that people don't want to talk with us about eternity and Jesus, but that's just a lie from the devil. This young lady was searching for eternal truth, and God had her out way past her curfew to hear the information that she had truly been seeking. God has placed an awareness of His truth in the heart of every man and woman. No matter how deep people may push it down, it's still there. They know there is something more than this life's relativism. It is our job to help them find the truth of what is waiting for them in eternity, who God is, and how they can commit to Him and live by His principles. Toward the end of our conversation, this young lady looked at me and asked, "Are you an angel from God?" What she was saying was that God had touched her life, and He just happened to use me to do that. What a humbling thought that the God of this universe would use fallen mankind to plant seeds in the hearts of the lost! Five times in my life someone has asked me if I was an angel from God. It is a little unnerving, but when we step out in faith and boldly share the good news of Jesus Christ with all the love we can, people will begin to see Jesus through our lives. I will never forget that young lady. But what would cause me to even want to talk with her that night? Here is one of those reasons, and it is a weighty piece of eternal truth. I can guarantee that there is one thing you cannot do in Heaven that you can do on earth. You can worship God in Heaven. You can praise God in Heaven. You can sing songs to God in Heaven. You can learn God's Word in Heaven. But one thing you cannot do in Heaven is share your faith with a nonbeliever. Why? Because everyone in Heaven is a believer. Do you realize that when you take your last breath, you will never again be able to talk with a lost person? Since that is true, shouldn't it be a priority of your life to reach out to all the lost people on earth while you can? I firmly believe that witnessing is a learned talent. God burdens our hearts to reach the lost, but we must get out there and start practicing those conversations. The funny thing is, though, the more you practice the easier it becomes. Practice. Practice. Practice. Can you think of someone you need to practice with today? Adapted from One Thing You Cant Do in Heaven. For very practical, biblical techniques for reaching the lost, see all of Mark's resources at http://www.markcahill.org/resource.html. http://www.worldviewweekend.com/secure/cwnetwork/article.php?ArticleID=1404 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. 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