Video Transcript: Connection 7 - The World Part 3

All right, we're in our last session, looking at connection, connection seven,  which is the world? How do we as Christians use our personal walk marriage,  family, friends, church kingdom? How do we use all these connections to reach  people who don't have these connections to God. So we've been looking at how to communicate our faith, personal evangelism, all the different methods, I want  to share you share with you two more. One is called the sowing Bible seeds  method. And the other is probably one you've never heard of, called the opt out  method. So we'll start with the sowing Bible seeds. I worked for several years,  so did Henry, president of Christian leaders Institute, Henry Reyenga and we  we both work for the Bible League, an organization that was founded by Bill  Chapman. Bill Chapman was a businessman from Chicago. And this was like,  you know, the 30s, somewhere back then. And he, he was at something in some convention or some conference or something in the I think he's in the insurance  business. And he was down in New Orleans. And he, he was, he was sick, he  wasn't feeling well. And he wanted to read the Bible. And there was a Bible in  the, in the hotel that he was staying. It was a Gideons Bible, here in the United  States, and several countries around the world. The Gideons placed Bibles, in  places like hotels. So when you opened up the Bible, and it spoke to him, God  healed him. And he was so impressed with it, that he started thinking about how  great the Bible was. And so in New Orleans, he went to a bookstore. And he  bought like, 15 Bibles. And he just knocked on random doors, because he  thought, you know, a lot of people don't stay in a hotel. You know, this really  helped me, maybe it can help someone else. So he just knocked on 15, doors, a person came to the door, he said, You know, I'm running around with Bibles. If  you don't have a Bible, I want to give you this Bible, if you promise to read it.  And so after a while, he got rid of 15 Bibles, when he got back to Chicago. He  bought, you know, hundreds of Bibles, and he went door to door, and he started  doing this. And then he started helping other and training other people. And then it became a program in churches, he would go to churches, this is how you do it, and churches would go out, knock on doors and give Bibles away. I'll give you  this Bible, if you promise to read it. Then World War II happened. The  organization was growing. And actually, General Douglas MacArthur after World  War II he was MacArthur was in charge of the reconstruction in Japan. He asked if Bill Chapman would get bibles to Japan. So Bill Chapman organized it and got people to donate and so on. And before he called it the Bible League, but once  he started getting Bibles, around the world, he called it the world home Bible  League, it was called home Bible League. We get we get the Bible into a  person's home and now it's the world home Bible league. And then when I was  living, working there, we got shortened to just the Bible League. So the Bible  League was trying to get the Bible into people's hands, but they didn't just hand  them. You know, a lot of Bible organizations. Just bring them by the truckload,  offload them to some organization, here you go. Good luck. And people just 

pass out the Bible. But that doesn't mean anyone reads it. So when Bill  Chapman started it, it was always this idea. I will give it to you if you promise to  read it. And so, Bible studies were formed. And so the way it worked around the  world was, you start a Bible study with people, when they complete it, they get a New Testament. They do another Bible study, when they complete it, they get  the whole Bible. So the Bible became a reward for getting into the Bible. So, you know, I worked there for six years, starting the ministry in Malaysia, and that is  always, you know, played with, you know, played with my mind and my  imagination. Because the Bible League stopped doing that, they stopped  knocking on doors and doing sort of that method. And I always thought, I wonder if that would work today, I mean, it worked in the 30s. But would it work today?  So I'm going to tell you how you might do that. In fact, our church is going to do  this next fall. We're going to try it. Step one. So here's what I would do if I was  knocking on doors. This is the first thing I would say, Hi, my name is Steve  Elzinga. And I've been giving free samples of a book that has been the number  one best seller this year. In fact, it was the number one best seller last year as  well. And the year before that, in fact, it has been the number one best seller  since the invention of the printing press over 500 years ago, I'm talking about  the Bible. So I'm trying to create a little bit of a little mystery. What book is this?  And finally, they realize it's the Bible. Step two, before I give the sample that I  have, can I get your advice? On a question, I've been asking your neighbors.  Okay, so now I just want your I need something from you. I'm not selling you  something. I would like your opinion. And in one of the sessions, we're going to  talk about how to ask questions. And that's one of the best ways to begin a  conversation, especially if you're trying to give some information to someone  else. People don't always want your information. But they do, like giving their  opinion about stuff. And that's a great way to segue into a conversation. So  here's the question. Why do you think that even though the Bible is and has  been the number one best seller for over 500 years? Most people don't read it?  Why do you think people don't read the Bible? Now, if you were to ask, why  don't you read the Bible that would be offensive and be very judgmental. But if  you come to someone and say, Why do you think most people don't read the  Bible, they will be glad to tell you. And a lot of times, what they'll be telling you is  why they don't read it. But the Bible is so big. You read it and you can't figure it  out. It's a bunch of stuff. And you know, people killing people and you know,  every negative thing that they think about the Bible, they will tell you, they will  give you the whole list of why they have not read the Bible. Now, rather than  being offended, they feel like they're in charge. They're in control. They're telling  you stuff. And you ask them for their opinions, you elevated them. Step three.  You're agreeing with them. The Bible is large, confusing, hard to read. And that's why I am out here trying to help people get into the Bible in the easiest way  possible. So I agree with you. A lot of the things that you say are absolutely true.

But there might be another way. Okay. Step four the walk with God for six days  and see if he shows up track. So this is what I'll be handing out. Little track. walk with God for six days. This is my smallest Bible. It's got six verses. Okay. Day  two, I Corinthians 9:24. Don't you realize that in a race, everyone runs, but only  one person gets the prize. So run to win. And then there's the thought having  something in your life to which you can really give your all is truly a blessing.  You were made to want to win. And then there's a question. How can you be  spiritually victorious today? So it's just a simple six verses, six thoughts. six  questions, that's it. And of course, they're they're verses that are like, easy to  understand verses that relate to people's lives. So when they read them as like,  Oh, I didn't know stuff like this was in the Bible. And the thought sort of gets  them thinking about how the verse may impact this very day. Okay, so I'm  making it as easy as possible for them to get into this thing. So that they  succeed. Every anyone can succeed at this. Alright. So then, so then how How  you know this, you're, in other words, you're planting Bible seeds. So this is the  first seed. So then I want to tell a person is, look, if you do this for the next six  days, I will come back. And I forgot to bring one. But I will give you a 30 second  Bible. I have this 30 second Bible. It's got a verse, a thought and a question just  like this little tract. But there's 365 of them arranged under 52 topics. They're like the highlight verses of the Bible verses that when you read, I get that, verses  that a person who's never read the Bible doesn't know thing about it would be  like, Wow, I didn't know stuff like this was in the Bible, and a verse and then the  thought that helps them apply it now to their lives. And then they start seeing  things happen. Okay, so if you read this. So if you do the little tract, I'll give you  this. If you do this, I'll give you the Jesus Bible. And the Jesus Bible is 150 pages is where Jesus shows up in the Bible. If you want to know what the Bible has to  say about Jesus, the most arguably, arguably the most influential, most famous  person in the history of the planet. Whether you believe in Jesus or not, knowing what the whole deal is about him might be worth reading. I'll give you that. If you finish that, I'll give you the adult sampler Bible. This is the abridged Bible. It's 1/3 of the size of the whole Bible. It's got all 66 books of the Bible, but it's only 1/3  the size of the whole Bible. On it, I have a little phrase, the Bible, you might be  able to read from cover to cover. So if you've struggled with the Bible, for  example, Leviticus, there's only one chapter in Leviticus, Leviticus 23, Leviticus  23, talks about all seven festivals, all in one chapter. So people don't get bogged down in Leviticus, or II Chronicles. In other words, it's the highlights. It's the best of you know, to help someone read the whole thing, and actually get it rather  than getting bogged down. Anyway. So it's sort of a planting seed by seed by  seed, and hopefully over time to Jesus Bible, the sampler Bible, and then how it  works, I offer one product with a promise to give them the next if they read it.  Number two, I figure out when to come back to give them the next product.  Hopefully, a connection is made in the process. See, that's the whole point. That

you know, that was Bill Chapman, I'm gonna give you this If you promise to read it, and how do I get you to read it? And how do we develop a relationship  because ultimately, if you don't get connected to a church, the whole thing is  going to fall apart, because God chose the church to be his instrument of  bringing salvation to people. So we have to get people ultimately, to church. So  that's the planting seed method. And you can you know, I have these things,  we're going to have them in our bookstore here at Christian leaders Institute,  and you can get them to do it there or you can find your own way. You know, Bill  Chapman used New Testaments, the whole Bible. There's always a way to do  this. The second method is the opt out method. It all started on a warm evening  in Amsterdam. Henry and I were doing some CLI graduations in. In England, we  went to Paris. We went to Scotland. But we also went to the Netherlands. So we were in Amsterdam. And we we did our conference there. And when I remember in the evening, we're just walking around the streets of Amsterdam, it was time  to eat and we found a Thai restaurant. But when we went and they had tables  sort of outside kind of on the sidewalk. There was someone at every table. So  there was a couple sitting at one of the tables, but there was a space for people  so we asked did you mind if we eat here too. So we started talking, both Henry  and I are ancestry is the Netherlands. Henry is a Reyenga. I am Elzinga and  names that end when the ga are from a little province called Friesland. The  Frisians of the Netherlands in the Frisians are quite famous really in the  Netherlands, Christianity actually came through St. Boniface is what he was  called St. Boniface came to the Netherlands to preach the gospel. And he went  to the Frisians. And he preached the gospel there. And what did my ancestors  do? They killed him. My ancestors killed the first guy that brings Christianity to  the Netherlands, but it took roots. And so, you know, I am blessed throogh his  martyrdom. So many of the Frisians were tough people. So anyway, so Henry  and I, both from the Netherlands, if you go back far enough, and so we're sitting  with this couple, and we're enjoying a conversation. So we're talking about the  Netherlands, our common history, and so on. And we're just having a good time, and they're having a good time with us. And I would guess that, you know, is  like, a half an hour of laughing and talking and joking and sharing. And then  somehow or another, they found out that we were pastors. And when they did,  they were like, shocked. They looked at us and said, really sane people that we  can have this much fun, and have a conversation, intelligent conversation, and  you really believe this stuff. Really, really, they were just how can this be? So we started sharing, you know, and we kind of went down a lot of the traditional ways of trying to share your faith and, you know, philosophy and arguing and in all the different ways that you might try to share your faith, all the things that we've  covered already here in the past. And they were oblivious to it all, they just  couldn't believe that sane people can believe in God. And, you know, Jonah in  the whale, guy died on the cross, I mean, all this really helped this modern 

world, they just could not get over it. So I remember, we're sort of frustrated with  this whole process. But I had to I remember, in the middle of all this frustration,  thinking of something to say, and that's where the opt out method came from.  And this is what I asked them. Were you baptized in your past? Did your parents bring you to church? Did your parents or grandparents go to church? Do you  have some connection to Christianity either now or in your past? If so, this is  what I told him. If so, God is so gracious, he may let you into His kingdom on  that basis. So if you are absolutely sure that Christianity is not for you, that we  can help you officially opt out. We can, of course, help people opt in which is  accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. But in the same manner, we can help  people opt out if they choose. That's a weird method, isn't it? And we try to make it sound official. You know, we've been ordained, we are licensed to do we're  licensed to help people become Christians. You're familiar with that kind of  process? People accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. That's opting in.  But there's the official opt out. I mean, if you really don't believe it, and you want  to make sure we can help you opt out. Well, they thought about it said, well don't know if we want to officially opt out. You see, what we did? Is we made them  doubt their doubt. Oh, I don't believe this stuff. Really? Are you sure? Are you  100%? Sure. Well, I'm not 100%. Sure. So there's a little bit of faith there is the A lot of times in our evangelism, it's like you're either saved or you're not. But  here's the thing. God starts working on the person's heart long before they know what's going on. And I want them to sense that I want them open to the  possibility that God is already working there, or that there's something that's  already there. Is it saving faith? I don't know. I don't know how much faith it  takes. But Jesus said if you had the faith of a mustard seed, the small seed you  could move a mountain. So do you have a little faith? hanging back with a little  bit of faith that you have hardly realize is there. I want to build on that. So that's  what we told them. I said, Okay. So there might be a little something there,  maybe not. I don't know. But there might be something and tell you what, you  know, we have this. This is not we don't think this is an accident that we sat here now what are the chances of us sitting here? There's no place to sit, sit here we  talk. What are the chances of this happening? Very small. So if this is of God,  God is real. The next couple of weeks he may talk to you, he may have  something happen. I don't know what can happen. That's this. That;s how God  has worked in our lives. I don't know what's gonna happen your life, but I'm just  saying. Be aware. I love that kind of evangelism. I love the kind of evangelism  where I am trying to build on what I see already in there. A lady shared with me  that her husband after 30 years doesn't come to church doesn't believe you  know, and it's and she's prayed her heart out and it still hasn't happened. She  was so discouraged I said just because a person says they don't really believe  doesn't mean that they don't a lot of people say a lot of things. God may be  working a faith inside of them that they're not aware of yet. So never give up. 

Never give up on somebody God works long before we can see anything long  before they can see anything. So that's my encouragement to you. Never give  up on the people in your life. Never give up on communities. I've tried to share  different ways of doing it. But in the end, it's God that is working in their heart.  

Trust that God is doing that.