Preaching To Scoffers

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Photo by Ryan, Young bucks sparring behind our home

I had an interesting conversation on Twitter today with a guy from Cape Town, South Africa.  He is an atheist and he took issue with an answer I posted to someone’s question regarding salvation.  My answer of course was that you can only go to Heaven through faith in Jesus Christ.  He didn’t like that.  It was a serious question and I posted a serious answer using God’s Word.  If you have been on Twitter, then you know it is full of scoffers and mockers.  It is heartbreaking when someone’s response to the truth is to scoff at it and mock the person speaking the truth.  I look past the insults and I truly feel sorry for them.   We must love even those who hate us as we share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

I have been called many things for following Jesus.  Today, I was told that I was an idiot for believing in Jesus.  He wanted to know why I believed the Bible was true, so I sent him a link to the post I wrote titled “Remember that time when…” about my testimony regarding the demon, the angels, and the miracle God did to save my life when I stopped breathing.  He read it and told me I needed professional help.  That actually made me laugh.  If he only knew!

If he had only lived in that demon possessed house with me and my family for 4 years when I was in high school!  If he had only been there during the angel encounters in 1998!  If he had only been there when I stopped breathing and came back to life in the powerful wind of the Holy Spirit in 2012!  I preached the truth of God’s Word to him and shared my testimony, and his response was that I am an idiot and I’m crazy.  I am neither and I told him the truth.

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.  It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.  For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.  He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.”

1 Peter 3:15-18

I let him know I would pray for him.  He told me, “Ok, cool…enjoy everlasting life in that big theme park in the sky!”  I let him know I will enjoy Heaven and I hoped to see him there.  I gave him several Scripture pins and preached the Gospel to him using John 14:6, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9, John 5:24, John 6:40, and John 10:28.  With every insult he threw at me, he read more of God’s Word in my responses.  He has heard the Gospel now and he knows about my testimony.  That is what matters.

Pic quote Words of Jesus

He knows why I believe and he knows I am living proof and a living testimony that Jesus Christ is Lord and everything the Bible says is true!  God cut through the darkness today and He is reaching out to another human soul that He loves!  My job is to get out of the way and let God do His thing through me!  It doesn’t matter how many times I am insulted, scoffed at, or mocked for believing in Jesus!  May His will be done!

Romans 6 v 23

Pic quote John 14 v 6

I am praying that the Lord reveals Himself to this man.  I prayed this morning for the Lord to reveal to him that the spiritual realm is real and everything I told him is true.  I asked the Lord to open up his mind and heart and reveal the truth of His Word to him.  I have also asked God to prepare his heart to know these things and I asked Him to use this man to preach the Gospel.  I pray blessing over this man and I pray the Lord saves his soul!  Like I told him, I hope he doesn’t die without Jesus.  Heaven and hell are very real places and that is no joke.  I told him he will find that out when he takes his last breath someday.  I also told him none of us are getting to Heaven without Jesus.

“First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.  They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised?  Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”  But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.  By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.  By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.  But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.  The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

2 Peter 3:3-9

This man reminds me of a guy I shared the Gospel with in college.  He was a philosophy major and he called me a fool for believing in Jesus.  A year later, he came running up to me on campus and enthusiastically told me he had accepted Christ!  He thanked me for sharing Christ with him and told me, “I understand now man!”  It was beautiful!

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, keep preaching the Gospel and keep loving people, especially when it is hard and you encounter resistance or persecution!  Keep going and don’t give up!  We will reap a harvest of righteousness and Jesus will be glorified!

Grace and peace to you all!

Pic quote double Romans

 

 

Author: Ryan Callahan

Hello, and welcome to my site! I am an independent Christian author (One Man's Very Strange Supernatural Life), blogger, and evangelist for Jesus. My main goal with this blog is to help people come to know Jesus, help people understand the Bible, and to minister to a lost and hurting world. This site is about hope, new beginnings, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love! I'm glad you are here, God bless you! Copyright © 2024 Ryan Callahan. All rights reserved.

33 thoughts on “Preaching To Scoffers”

  2. Thanks for sharing this encounter, Ryan! I used to be one of those know-it-all scoffers, but the Lord God Almighty made me eat my words…and I’m so glad He did! I too said a prayer for that scoffer’s salvation.

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  3. You had your work cut out for you today with the atheist, who you obviously struck a cord with or he wouldn’t have hurled personal attacks at you with such anger. Sometimes anger is a reaction to fear. But, you answered with good will, in prayer for him, and told him how he can be saved by Jesus, so now he knows and I pray one day he realizes it was a blessing. Hopefully that seed you planted will grow and he will accept Jesus. Great ministering, Ryan. You chose the perfect scripture, too, for your post….1 Peter 3:15-18! Halleuiah! P.S. The deer sparring in your back space is cool, great pic! Do you still see the white one?

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  5. Then you are blessed just like the Sermon on the Mount states. You are blessed because you are beautiful, bright, happy and full of the love of Jesus, they can see it and it offends them Do the happy dance brother when you have been treated like that because you are also blessed for your hearts is single and undivided, and your devotion is without mixture! I got this from “The Secret Kingdom” by Pat Robertson which I was reading today during lunch, and then saw this on your post, God is so good!

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  6. Hi brother yeah we all have been called nuts, insane, etc if I remember right I think I told by someone close to me they didn’t like I got saved or right with God whatever they said they later apologized. Oh been called obbessed for wanting to just watch biblically sound sermons on YouTube following along and reading the Word after I was saved in 2014 that I spent too much time doing that and not enough family time which is watching TV and told I could only read the Word for an hour. Then again Jesus said we would be persecuted.

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  10. Beautiful post, brother. And grand follow-up comments too. You encourage the brethren, Ryan. Praise Jesus! Yes, we will suffer tribulation and persecution, but it will all be worth it some day. Heaven and hell are indeed real. We live in a supernatural world whether scoffers want to believe it or not. I know it was Jesus speaking through you, but good job! We all should be so bold, submitting to the Holy Spirit like that. Blessings to you, brother!

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  12. Thank you so much for posting this and standing strong in your faith in the face of ridicule.

    Have you heard of the Yes He Is App for sharing Christ? I believe you would also benefit from sharing their Videos with unbelievers. It gets them face to face with the Truth lol.

    I am going to share a video that I have shared from their library. It is one of my favorites.

    Please Enjoy this Video from the Yes He Is Video Library

    https://shares.yesheis.com/-KtsJRu2EzzgOqRvt94A/-LudrEwrlZQ2pc9I3ed7

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