Behind the Scenes of Way of the Master Radio (11-13-07)

After what the Lord did this morning before today's edition of The Way of the Master Radio show, I could hardly wait to see what He would do next. He most certainly did not disappoint. The Lord blessed me with some great "fishing."

I spent the better part of the day on the campus of College of the Canyons (our local community college). Today, I was blessed to be joined by my friend, Josh. Josh is a student at COC and a graduate from a The Way of the Master Basic Training Course I taught.

Our guest for the first hour of the show was Blake, outside linebacker for the COC Cougars--one of the finest community college football teams in the country. Blake was with a young lady named Tara.

As I conducted my pre-show interview with Blake, I learned that he did not consider himself to be a good person (a rarity). He believed that people go to heaven when they die and that one has to be a good person to get there.

I put Blake on the phone with Ray Comfort. It was fascinating to watch Blake's demeanor change as the phone conversation progressed. Initially, Blake was light-hearted and jovial. Having done this for a while now, I could tell that Ray was making small talk with him.

Then Blake's demeanor went from jocular confidence to uncomfortable fidgeting. Ray was taking him though the law. His demeanor changed yet again when Ray took Blake to the cross. He became very subdued. There were a few instances when Blake touched the tip of his pinkie to the corner of his eye. Was it dust? Or was the linebacker trying to suppress a tear? During this last demeanor change, I noticed that Blake repeatedly looked at Tara, as if to see if she saw was looking at him and seeing what he was trying to hide--emotion.

Blake handed me my phone, indicating that his conversation with Ray had come to an end. When I asked Blake how the conversation went, he said, "It went pretty good. He told me some things that I didn't necessarily know, and he cleared some things up that I thought I knew. So, it went really well."

Blake and I talked for about ten minutes. Listen to his answer when I asked him what he was going to do about what he heard today.

Before Blake and Tara left, I asked Tara if she had any spiritual beliefs. She said she was Muslim. So, praise God. A Muslim heard the Law and the Gospel today! Blake and Tara received copies of How To Live Forever Without Being Religious and You Can't Handle the Truth gospel tracts.om

Our guest for the second hour of the show was a young lady named Carmen. Josh and I found Carmen sitting alone reading a book. When I asked her to be on the show, she didn't hesitate. I was so excited about what had happened with Blake that I didn't ask Carmen a single question about her spiritual background.

When I handed Carmen my phone, she put her book on the bench. The title: "God is Not Great--How Religion Poisons Everything," by Christopher Hitchens (an avowed "antitheist).

Carmen's face was very expressive throughout her conversation with Ray. I could tell the conversation wasn't going beyond the Law.

I spent almost twenty minutes talking to Carmen, once she was off the phone. It was a very pleasant exchange, but Carmen wouldn't budge from her agnostic points of view. Listen to our conversation and you'll see what I mean.

Two conversations, with two distinctly different people. One was humbled by the Law and one was not. Both conversations were a blessing and privilege to experience.

The Lord further blessed me with a wonderful postscript following my conversation with Carmen. As I talked to Carmen, I saw my friend, Lindsey. Like Josh, Lindsey is a graduate of a WOTM BTC that I taught. Lindsey was with her friends, Hannah and Jane (not her real name).

As I talked to the three ladies about what the Lord had done during my fishing trip to the campus, Lindsey and Hannah seemed interested and excited. Jane, on the other hand, seemed a bit taken aback. It dawned on me that I assumed that both of Lindsey's friends were Christians.

So, when there was a lull in the conversation, I asked Jane if she had any spiritual beliefs. She said she was a Christian. I asked her what it meant to be a Christian. She said that she had accepted Jesus as her Savior and that she wanted to live for Him.

I took Jane through a "Three Minutes to Live" scenario. She had no idea how to share the gospel with me.

"Jane, what if I told you I know how a car engine works. But when you asked me to explain how a car engine works I tell you that I can't explain it. Would you have any confidence that I really know how a car engine works?

"No. Not really."

"Tell me about something you know."

Jane proceeded to give me a 30-second lesson in music theory.

"Jane, while you don't know all there is to know about music, in about thirty seconds you were able to give me a lesson in music theory that I could understand."

She smiled.

"Don't you think that if a person knows Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior they should be able to tell someone else how they can know Jesus Christ?"

"Yes."

"Would you consider yourself to be a good person?"

"Yes."

"Do you think you have to be a good person to go to heaven?"

"I think it can help someone get there."

Since it was possible that Jane was simply an undiscipled believer, and since it was just as possible that she was a false convert, I gently took her through the Law and the Gospel.

"Jane, what I'm about to suggest to you might seem hard, but it's very important. I want to encourage you to go before the Lord and ask Him to search your heart and reveal to you if you have truly repented of your sin and received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If you have, then praise God. Read your Bible every day and learn how to articulate your faith to others. But if you come to the realization that you have never truly repented of your sin and received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, because the gospel you believed in high school was different than the gospel you heard today, then please get right with God, today. Repent and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

"There are many people around the world who will one-day stand before God expecting to enter heaven, only to hear Him say, 'Depart from me; I never knew you.' They thought they knew the Savior when they really didn't. I don't want that to happen to you. I want to see you in heaven, someday."

I said good-bye to the three ladies and made my way to my car. I honestly don't know how many times my feet actually touched the ground, during the walk to my car. :-)

It was a great day of fishing!