Sean Smith grew up in inner-city Oakland, Calif. Amid family dysfunction,
including his father’s murder, he eventually found Christ as his
Savior. He is a full-time evangelist. Smith talked recently with Scott
Harrup, general editor.
Evangel: How did you come to the Lord?
Smith:
At the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., I got involved
in the bar scene, clubs and pledging to a fraternity. But every time
I tried to get a lift in my heart, I found myself sinking. Chi Alpha*
on campus reached out to me. I went to one of their meetings and walked
forward. One night I was in my room crying out to the Lord, and God
came to me in that room. The light in my room was overwhelming. God
spoke to my heart and said He had heard my prayer and was calling me
to live for Him.
Evangel: Who were some of the first people you reached with the
gospel?
Smith: I pledged to a pretty wild fraternity. When I got saved,
they saw that I wasn’t partying or hitting the nightclubs anymore.
They would ask me questions. They were going through problems they didn’t
want anyone to know about. I led all but one of my fraternity brothers
to the Lord. They got involved in the Bible study I started. We had
35 guys coming — basketball players, football players, the fraternity
brothers. Every time I got the chance I talked to somebody about the
Lord.
Evangel: What do you see as the major lines of spiritual attack
against young people?
Smith: It’s on several fronts, all attacking their identity.
First, the media can be a major force for evil. Whenever the things
we watch or read or listen to make us feel like something else is what
we ought to be instead of what God has created us to be, there is a
satanic seduction. Young people don’t recognize that their highest
destiny is to do what God has called them to do and not just to fit
in for the moment.
Another major attack is the whole issue of political correctness. The
line of thinking is that we can throw the rules out and everyone can
be totally subjective. You say what’s right and wrong for you;
I say what’s right and wrong for me. This is ultimately an attack
on the authority of God’s Word.
The enemy is really using sexual immorality. Young people are told
that sex is a cure-all. It’s on the Internet; it’s on prime-time
television; it’s coming out through the music. Kids are facing
a non-stop onslaught.
We’re also seeing a lot more "in vogue" spirituality.
Teen-agers are involved in witchcraft. They join satanic cults as spiritual
wannabes. There is so much mixing of religions in the New Age movement.
Finally, there is the attack on the family. Moms and dads must speak
the identity of Christ into children. When that doesn’t happen,
the drug dealer down the street will influence them, the city school
will, the movies will, today’s singers will.
Evangel: How do you rely on the Lord to guide you in your marriage
and as a parent?
Smith: The Bible says God places lonely people in families.
My Chi Alpha group and the Assemblies of God church I attended let me
see dads and moms serving the Lord and loving their kids. There were
a couple of families that adopted me as a college student. I’d
eat at their homes and witness that.
I prayed, "God, when I get married, do whatever You have to do
in me to root out selfishness." I allow God to love me. Then, with
the surplus of His love, I love my wife and kids. It’s amazing
how God gives you a love when you’re serving Him. I can’t
imagine loving my wife or kids more than I do.
Evangel: Anything else?
Smith: God is putting a revolutionary spirit on young people.
They’re not going to be ashamed; they’re going to serve the
Lord with all their hearts. Satan’s worst nightmare is one genuine
believer, age 9 or 92. Young people want to give their all to something,
and they’ve found it. It’s the Lord.
*Chi Alpha is the Assemblies of God ministry on 206 secular college
and university campuses in the United States.
Smith:
At the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., I got involved
in the bar scene, clubs and pledging to a fraternity. But every time
I tried to get a lift in my heart, I found myself sinking. Chi Alpha*
on campus reached out to me. I went to one of their meetings and walked
forward. One night I was in my room crying out to the Lord, and God
came to me in that room. The light in my room was overwhelming. God
spoke to my heart and said He had heard my prayer and was calling me
to live for Him.