Camp Stories: Stand Out

0:10 Hi guys. So welcome back to the Rated podcast. And I don't know, I have interesting stories to share with you today. Of course, one day camp story. But before that, my church has this thing that we call streetlights. So it's basically us preaching the gospel. We take the light of the gospel to the streets, hence the name. So we usually go in twos. Sometimes we're being gross, but generally when we're like trying to evangelise, we're going twos, you know, Bible disciple kind of style. Hey, so I went with a friend of mine and we're just like, oh, let's go around.

0:43 If we see anyone that we just feel like let's share the gospel with them, go ahead and share the gospel with them. So we made these 4 ladies. I mean, they're all Christians, I think different beliefs and whatnot, but nevertheless, preach the gospel to them, spoke, ask them some questions, things like that and moved on. So the more interesting case was with this guy we met, we're on our way back to church like, oh, let's start going back. And I saw this guy. I'm like, oh, how about that guy, Let's go meet him.

1:12 So apparently he walks at the shop and when we go to the shop, like when I asked him, oh, can we talk for like family, like oh, sure, come beckons on us and we go to the shop. We go to stand directly in the shop. There's another lady who is also in shops. Apparently they both walk there. The guy and lady walk at the shop. So then I didn't know, but I later found out that he's actually a Muslim. So while I was speaking with him, my friend, she went to speak with the other lady in the shop. So I didn't know how their conversation was when I was just speaking with guy and he had never heard anything about Christianity before.

1:48 He did not like he didn't know what the word gospel was. He he didn't know about Jesus Christ, did not know about Jesus Christ provision for sin. He like he didn't know anything. I mean, he knew that, oh, there's a person in Islam that's called Jesus just as a prophet, but he didn't know anything. He'd never know. Some of the things that Muslims usually have an issue when it comes to Christianity. One primary example is maybe with the Trinity. A lot of Muslims usually that are cool. How does the Trinity work, things like that.

2:19 Let me just drop this here. Next episode I'm actually going to drop is going to be an eternity. So look out for that. I think it's such an interesting theme or topic. So yeah. And spits anyway, he didn't know any of that. He basically did not know anything. I can or has anybody ever come to preach the gospel to you before? Has any Christian ever come to do that? And he said no. And I was just wild. This person is definitely in his 20s, maybe late 20s. I'm not sure, but he's not young. He wasn't young.

2:49 I was just wow, like I know, oh, he's a Muslim man of that. But I never actually met a Muslim that had not heard anything about Christianity before. I had spoken with other Muslims, but none of them had been so oblivious or not aware of anything patent Christianity as his case was. But in my heart, I was, I was happy like, OK, you know what? This is a chance. This is this is God's goodness to you. This is a chance for you to hear the gospel. And I let everything in me out. I think I could, I could kind of relate to him because my dad actually was once a Muslim, so he converted to Christianity.

3:28 So of course, in converse with my dad, there are some things I got to understand. And so I could release one of these things to him. Like, oh, I know that being in this situation might be delicate because he's quite open to the whole thing of Christianity and like, oh, hearing it out and of that ball at the same time, a part of him is still like, but in Islam, things like that. But only I was just so happy that I got to share the gospel with him, explaining that, OK, you know what, there's the same problem that we all have and none of us can meet up to it.

3:54 And so we were all deserving of death, but then Jesus Christ pays the price on our behalf. And whoever believes in him is not just safe from sin, but also has eternal life. I also got to talk about the joy that comes with being with God, how that, for example, some of my friends that might have known me pray if you've listened to the beauty from the actual story, right? It's like that knew me before the whole event and miss me now. They're like, Oh, there's such a big thing. I'm like, this is one of the things that God can do.

4:21 There's such a joy that's knowing God brings and all this things. I was just so happy to share the gospel with him, you know, and I'm of course I'm still following up with him. Like must be dogged about this, right. So maybe I'll give you guys updates on that every now and then if you know you're hearing this. I would also love you to say a word of prayer for him. I don't know. I, I can't reveal his name for privacy issues or privacy reasons, but I just have to just say a word of prayer for him.

4:48 Pray that the light of the gospel really shines in his hearts and that the Lord draws him closer. Yeah. So anyway, here's another interesting thing. So after when we were going back, I was speaking with my friend and she was like the other lady that she spoke to said she had been a Christian all her life. So right from birth she grew up in a Christian home. And I mean, there was there was some some red flags with that. We're not Christians because we are born into a Christian family of Christians because we choose to believe the work of Jesus Christ.

5:18 And in receiving the Spirit of God, he helps us to be more Christ like. But that aside, that was not even my main issue. OK, You've been a Christian all along. So in speaking to the guy who worked at the shop, he had been working there for two years. I'm not sure how long Lydia had been working there for, but I want to be that it wasn't a short period, at least months because she seemed very comfortable with that. They seemed like they haven't should have for so long. And it was just I was telling my friend how it's amazing or it's interesting how you've been in the same space with someone who has never had the gospel, who has never had anything Christian all his life, yet you've been a Christian all your life.

5:55 I don't know if you get the irony to it. My friend was telling me how it's like so many times. I mean, we tried to compact mentalize Christianity. So it's like for a particular setting, Christianity works here and this other settings will just turn it off. So a very good example maybe in the workspace. I do want to put a disclaimer. I mean, there's a bit of tact I need to handle this. I think this one works more because we were speaking to people who, you know, helped run a shop where salespeople kind of in some corporate spaces and that there are rules and things like that.

6:26 So you have to be a bit more wise in your approach, but nevertheless, it's still possible to engage your colleagues in some of these meaningful conversations. But it's like, oh, wine workspace. We're all about achieving our KPIs, our targets, and I just want to get out of this environment. It's like you don't see the urgency of the gospel. You don't see the need to share the gospel. And it's like, imagine you had a ticket that would get you $5,000,000 and someone tells you that, oh, as I'm giving you this ticket now you can also tell another person that is around to also come and get their own tickets.

6:59 You definitely, even if you didn't know a person, that bro, they are sharing this cyst. They are sharing that you can go and get yours. And that's with something like money. How much more the gospel that saves our lives eternally. Maybe a part of you even wants to share the gospel. There's just a lack of urgency because I don't know how. How is it that you've been with someone for so long, yet they know nothing about your faith? It shouldn't be the case and doubling me, today's episode stand out.

7:31 So back when I was in camp, NYC camp, I think one of the beautiful things about camp, one of the interesting parts of camp is how you can meet someone you don't know from anywhere. A random person. You've never met them. In fact, even in camp, you've never seen them before. And maybe after that day, you might never see them again. And you guys have a conversation just because circumstance puts you together. So a very good example is maybe platoons. You're groups into platoons. So in your platoon, maybe you guys are marching together or you guys get punished together.

8:02 So my platoon actually got punished a lot of the time. So like because of the shared experiences, you just have to bond. There's a way how I don't, I don't want to call it trauma Bunny, but there's a way how you go through Shaggy and to cause you guys to just bond, you know, and all of a sudden you guys just start talking. And I think one of the different things was how throughout so many of these conversations, I forgot to actually ask this before getting like, it won't even come to mind. You'll just be talking with them.

8:27 And it's maybe after you spoke with them 1234 times, like, Oh, it's true. What's your name? Let me get your number, things like that. But anyway, there was a particular morning. I promise you this was a very, very, every time I think about this conversation, I'm like really? So this morning, usually in the morning there are lectures, maybe like one person comes and speaks for 5 minutes, maybe 3 different people. So we have lectures. So that particular morning, I can't remember what exactly the person was speaking on board.

9:00 It was something pertaining to sex and related issues and things like that. So a lady in front of me, I can't remember what exactly she was saying, but I know she was saying something about men and women and sexual related issues. And So what she was saying then led me to say that, oh, you know, that if a man and a woman like, and when I see man woman, I was referring to a husband and a wife in a marriage have sex related issues, they can go and see specialist like they are professionals who can actually give sound counsel.

9:32 You can grant me professionals for these things. No need for you to keep silent about it or resort to unhealthy habits. You know, there are so many lies I've been told like, oh, you need to watch porn. You need to explore to find out whether you'll be good at it or not, things like that. So I was telling her that then she was not saying something in return. Say something about her boyfriend or maybe somebody else's boyfriend. And instinctively, I didn't post the thing that, oh, if I wish you're out in the open with thousands of people, you don't know what their views might be.

10:03 Different people, different views. But I just instinctively said about, you know, you're not supposed to have sex with someone that you're not married to. Like it was after I said it was after I came as a matter of like everybody actually agreed. It's like I said it So matter of factly, maybe because before getting scamped, everybody around me is more or less in that same wavelength, thinks the same way. I forgot that I'm not in the same place. I'm not in the same atmosphere, in the same group of people.

10:31 We're having people from all over the country converge in one place. So of course, difference of views, difference of opinions. And then she says like, hey, you know, she's so like, who's this guy? Not in the offended kind of like, what does this guy think he's saying? Like I'm thinking all of a sudden she taps the lady in front of her. I don't think she knew the lady in front of her. So like I said, different platform, different people, She just taps. They like hear what this guy is saying. No say that he cannot have sex with someone until he my eyes them, things like that.

11:01 And instinctively, the lady that she tapped is obviously like that she has a friend and that friend is suffering because of this thing now, but they're having issues with your sexuality just because she did not check before they got married. I was out before then. They had always told me, oh, that there are people that believe that, you know, there are people that say that in that before he gets married, they have to test it out whether they would be compatible. And I mean, I heard when they said, oh, there are people like that, but it always seemed like folklore.

11:31 It didn't seem realistic, but then it became real, like all these people actually exist. I was so surprised. I was so surprised. Like they didn't front the lady that she tapped called me mommy's boy. She called me mommy's boy. This was the first time I was ever happy to be called the mommy's boy. In my mind I was like, yes, from that day on decided calling me pastor, right? I just remember she remembered called me pastor, things like that. But she basically said that, oh, she cannot depend that she used was lash even that team.

12:01 I didn't know that it was a team like that until I got to camp. All of a sudden I heard different movies like you all know this thing like it's not a thing indigenous to a particular black. You all know this term. So she's like, oh, she cannot Cortana go lash anybody or no, she cannot my anybody that she has not lashed right. And I'm just like, I really hope that it's not too descriptive. I just trust that you get the main point of all that I'm saying. So it was just a big surprise for me. I was like, how I you all really believe this.

12:36 And it just reminded me that because for a long time, a lot of things that I knew or that I knew, I just don't bother seeing them. Not because I don't think they're not valuable. I'm like, I think all of us should know this by now. There's just that as I'm trying to back of my mind that I mean, isn't everybody on the same page with this? I know that some people might not be Christians, but I just assume that even though you're not a Christian, you should still, of course, why would you want to test out with every single person before you know that you want to get married to them?

13:05 That was my thinking, right? It just made sense to me. But being out there, being at the NYC and being exposed to different kind of people mean realize that what you know, other people might not know. And it's not just something specified to just, you know, sexual related issues. I'm talking generally in the faith now, right? First things first, starting from the gospel, so many people might have heard of Christianity but do not actually know what the gospel is. And so you might think, oh, everyone should know the gospel.

13:34 Now, by the way, we need to appreciate 2 reasons. One, it's a message that saves lives. You have the chance to save a person's life. You have a chance to usher them or help usher them into the path of eternal life like God can use it to do such an awesome work. And second of all is that they might actually not know. They might actually not know the gospel. And so you might be that chance for them to know the gospel. So it was just, it was just running through my head how there are probably a lot of things that in my mind that I probably should speak out more about.

14:09 I should probably talk more about them. Do not assume that people know them, right? Let people know what you believe about your faith. Be more vocal about. And I think this really helped because later on I represented my platon for this and I will call money devotion. And so we had different themes for our platoons. My platoon was loyalty. So we're supposed to, you know, come up with a presentation of some sort. He doesn't necessarily have to be religious symbol. I decided to go that route. So we're supposed to do something as regards loyalty.

14:39 So what I did was I used the story of Hosea and Goma. That's his wife, you know, about how Hosea still remained loyal to her as a depiction of God's loyalty to Israel, things like that. But it was just so beautiful. I remember before going, I was scared. I was scared because I kept praying to God, like God be glorified because I'm like God. I'm indirectly talking about your gospel. And I remember while I was speaking, there were so many people who resonated with it. And it just reminded me how deep down a lot of people are actually yearning for lights.

15:08 A lot of people are are are looking for the truths, but because they've never actually gotten access to it of the of they've not been an environment that helped them to properly pursue it or to continually pursue it. They give up like being in camp, being around people at different times. There was this other time where I was watching a reel on my phone was a reel of a pastor preaching and this lady beside me all of a sudden like, Oh, I love this pastor so much. Every time I see he's real, I just automatically like it.

15:35 I'd heard I have some I'd had some conversations with her before I'd heard her say something. So I need a Oh, she might not necessarily be the strongest believable. That alone was proved that one something in her wants to grow closer to God. So for a lot of people that's probably the case. It's now a thing of oh, do they have the avenue or do they have the people around them to actually see these things. And so it just reminded me that the things that you know, the things that you know about the faith, the things that you've learned from the word of God from your walk with God.

16:03 I know things that supposed to just stay with you. You have to actually stand out as lights. You have to shine. That's not so little light of yours. The light of the gospel that you have received from Christ is supposed to shine forth. It's not supposed to be put under a bushel, all right. It's supposed to be put in a place where everyone can seed and glorify God. I think it was just such a beautiful experience for me. I think it was such an eye opener. I remember there were different times when I would randomly be walking and I would hear someone play a gospel song and then there's a joy that would rise within me just from a person simply playing a gospel song.

16:42 So one thing that really stood out him was how I should be vocal about my faith. Bring out your Christian book, bring out your Bible. Another person is going to see you doing that and it's going to encourage them like you know what, they're here as well. They're Christians, say I also can do this. I think it's just such a beautiful thing. So I think that's pretty much the apart from the fact that I wanted to tell you guys some interesting things that were happening in my life. I think the message here is stand out.

17:10 Stand out, Be loud about your faith, be loud about your feet, shine faults, stand out every phrase or term you can think of. That alliance with this right light should not be put under a bushel. It's supposed to shine so that all who seed, who glorify God be the reason why someone can draw closer to God, be the reason why someone can continue in their pursuit of God. Bida Ave. what I means preaching the gospel practically what I means being loud about your feet, you know, not keeping quiet about your views.

17:47 Like sometimes they're probably not going to agree with you. They're probably going to call you a mummy's boy or daddy's girl and it's fine. But best be assured that even deep down I know you're part of them was like, oh, OK, maybe this is actually not the right way. And a lot of them, it's not even the thing where they actually don't agree with what you're saying, but because for so long they've tried and they've not made progress, you know, maybe because they've been trying by their own efforts.

18:11 Of course, we can't do things by our efforts. That's why I rely on the strength of God. But maybe some people don't know that. And so they're trying their own efforts. They can't make any progress, and then they give up. So, so many people. It's not even that they do want to do better, but then they just give up because they've tried in their own strength. So there's so many things to it. And it's why we need to shine forth this light of the gospel. I love this particular verse in Second Corinthians.

18:34 I can't remember which chapter or the verse particularly, but it says that we may be the ones through whom the knowledge of God is dispersed into the world. So in every and any possible way, whether it's preaching the gospel directly, whether it's talking about other things pertaining to the word of God, whether it's being loud about your convictions, just sharing the fact that you're a Christian out there in the songs that you play in the movies that you watch, like normalize saying things like, Oh, I didn't watch this movie because I didn't like the content that was displayed in the trailer.

19:04 I do that sometimes like I watch and I'm like, no, this is not for me. I know where I'm at and I'm like, I'm not going to push myself through this temptation or through this torture, that kind of thing, right? Just be loud, be unapologetically loud. And that's a wrap. So I really hope that you like this episode. I really hope that you got something from it. And I just hope that you enjoyed listening to listening to it. Really. I enjoyed talking about this episode actually, I really love if you can share this with someone again, please, if you listen to it, so like you can always like just text me.

19:37 Oh, I listen to this and I enjoy this and some of you did that last weekend. I love you guys so much. Thank you. Even those of you that not text me, I still love you. All right, I love you all. I pray that you have an awesome week ahead. I pray that God helps you to shine his light forth and I pray that maybe wherever, I don't know, I feel the sense to pray this, but wherever maybe there might be a struggle, I pray that good. Granted strength to live or to come out on top in that struggle and to remain obedient to him.

20:07 Yeah. So take care of yourself. Stay with it. Bye.