My name is Josiah DeWitt, and I live in Nashville, Tennessee. I'm 14 years old, and
I'm a big fan of Tony Evans. So one of the things I really like is his teaching
on spiritual warfare. And I have listened to that series and it's so powerful
because it really helps me understand that there's a whole spiritual meaning
to everything in the Earth, and it really makes me keep myself in check and be
aware of Satan's temptations towards me. One of the books that I've really been
impacted by of his is "Watch Your Mouth" because that book really helped me
realize that everything that I'm saying is gonna be held against me and it helps
my reputation. It's like I've got dynamite in my dentures, so I need to
totally focus on everything I say being focused towards God and not be negative
or crass or anything that is not pleasing to Him. One day when my family and
I were on vacation at a resort, we ran into Justin Bieber. And they were like, "Oh
my goodness! Wow! That's Justin Bieber!" My mom was like, "I'm pretty sure of it" So she
ran up to the hotel room and she was so excited. And I was like, "What is it? What
is it?" And she's like, "Justin Bieber's down in the nightclub." I was like, "That's amazing.
I want to go see him." So I decided to come down, and she said all of us could
come down but, "I wanted to go first." So I came downstairs, and I saw him there
and I thought, "That's so awesome. I wish I could talk to him." But I thought, "That's
probably not gonna happen." So I just started walking back up to the hotel
room, and as I start to leave, he starts to leave. He ends up coming over to me and
putting his arm around me, and that leads me to be able to talk to him. So I think,
"There are so many people who are gonna come over here and be starstruck and
silly and ask for selfies and autographs and
all kinds of stuff, but I feel like no one's gonna really share the gospel with
him." And I thought, "This is a great opportunity for
me as a Christian to go share the gospel with him." So I started to ask him about his
faith and about his life, and I had heard recently that he had been getting back
into some faith, so I asked him about that. He told me that he had, and that he
was really into it now, and that he's been singing with Hillsong and that he was
really starting to get back into it and really enjoying it. And we ended up
having quite a conversation about it. And he asked me what preachers that I liked,
and I, of course, decided to tell them about Dr. Tony Evans. And he's like, "Wow
that sounds amazing. I'll have to look into him." And I said, "It was nice to meet
you." And we high-fived and then I walked back to the hotel room. So I thought "This
is such an awesome experience." And the next day, I saw him as we were heading up to
our room, and he came over to me and he's like, "Hey man! How's it going?" I was like,
"Good." And he's like, "I've been thinking, and I want to know the name of that
preacher again, I forgot it." I was like, "Oh, it's Tony Evans." And he's like, "That so
great man. I'm gonna have to look him up." And I saw him get his phone out so he can
look it up. But I feel like he was just really impacted by it, because if he
wasn't he would have just— The fact that he even remembered it and
remembered it was me, it was just really powerful because I knew that I had had
an impact. And he was so nice, and then he told me, "God bless you." And that was really
amazing. And it really makes me aware that everywhere I go I'm on a mission
and that I need to always seize the opportunity to share the gospel with someone. So when God
uses you, it's like you feel this overwhelming sense of satisfaction, like
you've completed some big task, because the only thing that we have to live for
is God and advancing his kingdom, and we need to do that. And once you've done it,
and once you've pleased God by that and you know that you've helped someone
along in their walk, it's just this amazing feeling of satisfaction and joy.