Witnessing for Christ
Mark 5:1Those delivered from Satan's power should witness to God's power and grace in peace.
Those who have been delivered from Satanic power so that they may go in peace should go to witness of His power and grace
Witnessing in Christian preaching emphasizes the faithful sharing of the gospel to bring others to Christ, often depicted through images of persistent effort, sacrificial love, and the urgency of reaching the lost (Acts 1:8). Illustrations use vivid pictures like invitations, blooming flowers amid adversity, and life-saving acts to highlight the transformative power and eternal significance of proclaiming Christ's message (Matthew 28:19-20).
Witnessing
Genesis 6Noah faithfully preached God's message despite no converts, proving his belief by obedience.
Noah, typical witness and workman. Preached God-given message. One hundred years without convert. Proved his own belief by building ark
Witnessing, Opposition to
Acts 13:3The Spirit empowers believers to overcome opposition and succeed in preaching God's word.
Those called by the Holy Ghost may venture against the devil's assaults for the Spirit is with them to give success to the word preached
Calais Lighthouse
A faithful witness’s light is seen worldwide and impacts others even from afar.
The keeper of the lighthouse at Calais was speaking of the brightness of his lantern, which can be seen ten leagues at sea; when a visitor said to him, “What if one of the lights should chance to go out?” “Sir,” said he, pointing to the ocean, “there are ships going by to all parts of the world. If tonight one of my burners went out, within six months would come a letter, perhaps from India, perhaps from America, perhaps from some place I never heard of, saying, such a night, at such an hour, the light of Calais burned dim. Ah, sir! sometimes in the dark nights in stormy weather, I look out to sea, and feel as if the eyes of the world were looking at my light.”
Light Where It Can Be Seen
A Christian’s virtue should shine publicly where it benefits others most.
On the north coast of Cornwall and Devon is a lighthouse, which was first placed high up upon the cliffs, where the mists and the fogs often obscured and hid its brightness from the passing mariner. So they took it down and built it on the rock out at sea, amid the waves of that dangerous coast, there to shine where it was most necessary. A virtue should shine in cities, not in solitudes. The Christian’s duty is here among men, and the nearer he draws to his fellowmen, so that his Christianity be real and true, the more good he is likely to do them.
Contact
Physical contamination illustrates how sin and worldliness spread among people.
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Mr. Hilditch, of the Sheffield Laboratory of Bacteriology and Hygiene, Yale University, has demonstrated that the average number of bacteria in each of twenty-one bills was 142,000, while by far the most common forms present were the varieties of the pyogenic staphylococcus. These organisms were not in possession of their full virulence, but merely produced a more or less local reaction, on guinea-pig injection, with swelling of the lymph glands of the groin. Their constant presence on money is certainly of greater significance than merely indicating the exposure to the bacterial contamination of the air; they clearly indicate that the money has been contaminated by handling and without regard to the virulence or the danger of infection to which these particular organisms themselves expose those who receive the money, they establish beyond question the most fundamental and significant fact for scientific demonstration, viz., that money is a medium of bacterial communication from one individual to another.--_The Popular Science Monthly._
Offense, Rock Of
A believer's sinful conduct can cause others to reject Christ and lose salvation.
Fred J. Atwood voices the regret of those who, by failing to live, will lead others astray:
Because, professing still to be A follower of the Lamb of God, I walk in devious paths where he Is never seen, has never trod, E’en thus it is that some, through me, The Master’s face may never see.
Because, professing to be wise, And to have found the Truth, the Way, I oft am seen in Folly’s guise, Unmindful whom I thus betray,-- Yet so it is that some, through me, To heaven’s gate may lose the key.
Because, professing his dear name Whose love is infinitely great, My tongue will even friends defame, And flashing eyes oft tell of hate,-- Alas, alas, that some, through me, May, hopeless, face eternity!
Shining As Lamps
Believers shine Christ’s light in dark places so others may glorify God.
The _British Weekly_ prints this:
His lamps are we, To shine where He shall say, And lamps are not for sunny rooms, Not for the light of day, But for the dark places of the earth, Where shame and wrong and crime have birth; Or for the murky twilight gray, Where wandering sheep have gone astray; Or where the light of faith grows dim, And souls are groping after Him. And as sometimes a flame we find, Clear shining through the night-- So bright we do not see the lamp, But only see the light, So we may shine--His light the flame, That men may glorify His name.
U. S. Dept. of Education, Statement On Religious Expression
Acts 5:40Guidelines for public schools concerning religious expression of students. Students are allowed to pray unobtrusively, read Bibles, talk to fellow students about their faith without harassing them, and can take classes that teach about religion without advocating a particular religion. Very positive for Evangelicals.
Outreach
Mark 3:10Jerry Rice, who plays for football’s San Francisco 49ers, is considered by many experts the best receiver in the NFL. Interviewers from Black Entertainment Television once asked Rice, “Why did you attend a small obscure university like Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, Mississippi?”
Rice responded, “Out of all the big-time schools (such as UCLA) to recruit me, MVSU was the only school to come to my house and give me a personal visit.”
The big time schools sent cards, letters, and advertisements, but only one showed Rice personal attention.
How much more important is the personal touch in matters of the heart, soul, and spirit.
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Another version from Brett Blair, 1/24/03:
One day Lamar Hunt, the man who started the American Football League and owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, came across his daughter’s Super Ball and was given the inspiration for the name of the championship game between the upstart AFL and the old guard National Football League.
“Why not,” he wondered, “call our championship game the Super Bowl?” The name caught on quickly and thus, an American tradition was born. Today’s the big game! And there is an interesting story behind one of the players. If you watch the game today I want you to remember this story about Jerry Rice.
He was the longtime star for the San Francisco 49ers, considered one of the greatest receivers in the history of football; he played for the 49ers for 15 years, 1985 to 2000. Tonight he will be playing for the Raiders. He is a famous athlete and you would think he came from some legendary college team but he didn’t. He played for Mississippi Valley State University, in Itta Bena, Mississippi, a virtual unknown.
He was once asked, “Why did you attend a small, obscure university like Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, Mississippi?” Rice responded, “Out of all the big-time schools (such as UCLA) to recruit me, MVSU was the only school to come to my house and give me a personal visit.”
The big-time schools recruited through cards, letters, and advertisements, but only one came to meet him and showed Rice personal attention. It makes a difference in this world to meet people eye to eye and invite them to be a part. As Jesus passed along the sea of Galilee, the scriptures say, he saw Simon and his brother casting a net into the sea. He approached them and invited them to be a part. He went a little further and he saw to more brothers: James and John. He went up to them extending the same invitation and they followed. It is the personal touch which attracts us, is it not? Cards and letters can only do so much. And advertising is so impersonal. But a shake of the hand and a personal touch, it makes all the difference.
#3142
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A Final Assignment
Professor Robert Laurens gives message to teens; one of them comes up to him afterwards but he is too distracted to notice. She writes him a letter saying his talk helped her because she is a loser and had been contemplating suicide.
In a class soon after he announced a pop quiz in the last 5 minutes. They all moaned. He read the letter, and stopped. The bell rung. The students shrugged and left. One stayed behind. With tears in her eyes she asked Laurens for the girl's name and address. He gave it to her and she wrote several letters. The other girl accepted Christ and became a student in Laurens' New Testament class at Judson College in 1988.
Only one girl took the time.
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Sermon version:
Bob Laurens is a professor at Judson College in Illinois and he also speaks at youth rallies. One day a girl followed him after a concert. He did not get a chance to talk but gave her his address. She wrote him a letter saying how good she felt hearing him. But she was still lonely, and had thoughts of suicide.
The next day Bob announced a “pop” quiz in his class. All the students moaned, of course. Then he read the girl's letter. Bob stood there. The students waited, pencils in hand, but he never said anything. The end-of-class bell rang, and the students quietly filed out of the room. All but one.
With tears in her eyes, she asked the professor for the girl's address. She wrote to her and they became good friends. In time, the girl got saved and later attended Bob Laurens' New Testament class at Judson.
Throwing the Word of God Into the Ocean
Ecclesiastes 11:1A fellow in Alaska has been throwing the Word of God into the ocean for a third of a century. Missionary Everett Bachelder, who, with his wife Mina, operates the Nome Gospel Home in the city, has tossed more than 1,000 mayonnaise jars and ketchup bottles into the Bering Sea - crammed with Scripture messages written in 100 languages. Wind and waves have carried the story of God's love to the far corners of the earth, bring responses from as far as 10,000 miles away. Kids from the various area churches help him fold the messages and put them in the jars and bottles.
It has been a rewarding experience. One bottle was taken from the Atlantic Ocean a decade after Bachelder tossed it into the icy Bering waters. A man in Singapore, distraught over a romance gone sour, was about to commit suicide by jumping into the waters from a cliff when he saw a bottle wash up against the rocks below. Deciding to leap when the bottle broke, he watched it hit the rocks again and again without breaking. Curious, he climbed down the cliff, saw the messages, opened the bottle, discovered it related to the Word of God, sought out a missionary in Singapore, and got saved! As Ecclesiastes 11:1 says, "Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days."
[see sermon for different layout]
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You Didn't Tell Me About Hell
William Reynolds was a resident of Peoria. A man stopped him on the street with the question: "How have you lived with me for fifteen years and knowing I was going to Hell, said nothing to me about it?" The man had been converted by a little conversation with Moody upon a train.
Reynolds went to Chicago to hear Moody because he realized something was the matter with his religion. Now his business is working for Jesus Christ and he runs a packing house on the side to pay his expenses. All the good that has come out of Reynolds' life afterwards would have been lost if Moody had been playing cards in the smoking car. There's something for you half-baked elders and deacons.
Abraham Lincoln & Lord Shaftesbury
Sometimes through seemingly insignificant people, spiritual greatness is sown. This could be true of Abraham Lincoln and Lord Shaftesbury.
In 1819 Parson David Elkin, an itinerant Methodist preacher, stood above a simple grave in the Indiana wilderness. He made a brief, heartfelt statement about the good character of the person buried there - Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Who knows what seeds of faith were sown there, later to sprout in the greatness of Abraham Lincoln? Though never a church member, he was a church attender and faithful to the church's teachings. Something must have been planted in the lonely, hungry heart of that scrawny boy by backwoods preacher Elkin. [Lincoln was the only American president not to be a member of a church - Christian History, #33, page 1]
An English nurse, looked down upon by her lord and lady, sat teaching a small boy the Bible and its truths. His parents were too busy in society to pay him any notice. The only reason we know about this nurse is that she was teaching the future Lord Shaftesbury, England's great nineteenth-century reformer, the man who got the children out of the coal mines. We have no reason to believe he would have been anything but a privileged wastrel had this Christian nurse not planted the right seeds.
#367
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We Can All Be A Tom Phillips
Acts 2:21In the year 386, Augustine of Hippo sat beneath a fig tree, weeping bitterly over the state of his soul. Then he heard the voice of a young child singing, “Take up and read. Take up and read.” Immediately Augustine grabbed the Scriptures and opened to Romans 13: “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Augustine went on to become the most influential Church father in Western Christendom.
We do not know the name of the young child whose song helped Augustine to faith.
In 1736, on a ship bound for America, John Wesley trembled with fear because of a terrible storm. Despite the wind and waves, on the ship’s deck, a group of German Moravians calmly sung hymns. Wesley was stunned at their faith and lack of fear, and after the voyage, learned from a Moravian bishop about “the second birth” and assurance of salvation.
We do not know the names of those faith-filled Moravians.
In August of 1973, Nixon hatchet man Chuck Colson sat crying in the driveway of a corporate executive who’d just shared with Chuck the good news of Jesus Christ. Chuck gave his live to Christ and became one of the great evangelical voices and Christian worldview thinkers of modern times.
We do know the corporate executive’s name. Tom Phillips. In January 2019 he passed from this life into the arms of his Savior.
Tom Phillips was extraordinarily successful. He was chairman and chief executive officer of Raytheon. He was awarded several honorary degrees. He served on numerous boards (including an advisory board of the Salvation Army), and he was a generous philanthropist.
But one of his greatest achievements was sharing his faith in Christ with Chuck Colson. Years ago, on BreakPoint, Chuck described that fateful evening
Chuck Colson: I knew Tom had become a Christian, and he seemed so different. I wanted to ask him what had happened.
That night he read to me from Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis, particularly a chapter about the great sin that is pride . . .
Tom, that night, told me about encountering Christ in his own life. He didn’t realize it, but I was in the depths of deep despair over Watergate, watching the president I had helped for four years flounder in office. I’d also heard that I might become a target of the investigation as well. In short, my world was collapsing.
That night, as Tom was telling me about Jesus, I listened attentively, but didn’t let on my own need. When he offered to pray, I thanked him but said, no, I’d see him sometime after I read C. S. Lewis’s book. But when I got in the car that night, I couldn’t drive it out of the driveway. Ex-Marine captain, White House tough guy, I was crying too hard, calling out to God. I didn’t know what to say; I just knew I needed Jesus, and He came into my life.”
The rest, as they say, is history. Chuck went on to found Prison Fellowship, the world’s largest prison ministry. Through his work in the prisons, untold thousands of prisoners across the world came to Christ. They owe their salvation in part to Tom Phillips’s willingness to share the Gospel with Chuck.
All the great work Chuck did for justice reform, and the ministry of BreakPoint and the Colson Center, not to mention Chuck’s extraordinarily influential books on Christian worldview, can be traced back to Tom Phillips.
Very few of us will ever have the sort of towering life and influence of a Chuck Colson. But every single one of us can be a Tom Phillips. Just think: that kind word in Christ’s name, that work of art that points to truth and beauty, that article or commentary, and especially that face-to-face talk about Jesus ... can change a life. And that life might change the world.
Praise God for Tom Phillips.
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Resources
The Man Who Led My Dad to Christ: Tom Phillips (1924-2019)
Emily Colson, with David Carlson, BreakPoint, January 10, 2019
Augustine's Confessions: Chapter XII
Christian Classics Ethereal Library
The Moravians and John Wesley
Christian History
Moravian Moment # 22 - The influence of the transformed life
June 10, 2007
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Copyright (c) 2019 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. “BreakPoint” is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.
A Hard Sell
I was a college student and was selling religious books in Dayton, Ohio. I lived in Dayton.
One morning my team leader asked me to work in one of the rougher areas of Dayton. It was an area known for drug traffic, crime, even murder. I suppose I should have had some trepidation, but I was happy to go. Besides, no one else seemed willing to. The people there were neglected. Even most church members wouldn't venture into that neighborhood.
As the day went on, I discovered that the people were wonderful. It seemed that everyone invited me into their home, and many wanted me to pray for them. By afternoon I had sold many books and prayed with lots of families.
About 4:00 I approached a tattered door. I knocked loudly. There was no response. I knocked again. After a few moments I heard a man's voice: “Who is it?” The words were more like a demand than a question.
“Benjamin,” I replied, using my name as if he knew me.
“Who?”
“Benjamin.”
“What do you want?”
I thought, lf l say “I want you to buy a book,” chances are slim to none that the door will open. So I decided to go with some mystery.
“I want to show you something,” I said with conviction.
Suddenly the door flew open. But I was not greeted by a face; I was staring down the barrel of a sawed-off, double-barrel shotgun. I couldn't see the man's face clearly, only the gun, which was aimed directly at my head. I followed the barrel to the trigger. His finger was on it. Amazingly, I wasn't afraid.
“What do you want?” the man asked.
“Sir,” I began, “I'm a Christian, and I want to show you some books about Jesus.”
“Show me one.”
I had not expected that response. I quickly grabbed one from my valise.
“Slowly!” he yelled.
Of course. As I offered him the book he snatched it from my hand. It seemed as if the gun lowered a bit.
“What's this about?”
“It's about how you can become friends with Jesus.” All of us had a memorized speech that we were supposed to say when asking someone to buy a book, but I decided that this wasn't the situation for that.
“How much?” he asked.
“Whatever you want to give, sir.”
Why did I say that? Why didn't I just give him the book as a donation and scram? To my surprise, he fished some money out of his pocket and handed it to me.
“Thank you, sir,” I managed to reply.
He mumbled something and shut the door. I thanked God right there. Not only had He protected me, but this man had received a book that over the years has been instrumental in changing many people's lives. While walking away from the house I prayed that the man would go on to know and love Jesus.
Later, while I was talking to some of the neighbors, they said that without question or exception, the man with the gun was the meanest man in the neighborhood. They informed me that no one dared knock on his door out of fear of being shot. They couldn't believe that I had knocked and lived to tell about it. They couldn't believe that he had bought one of my books - a fact that I am sure helped me sell even more books that afternoon.
I often think about that man and that afternoon in Dayton. I like to think that one day I will see that man in heaven.
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Adventist Review, ISSN 0161-1119, (c) October 2004, http://www.adventistreview.org/; submitted by Mary Thayne
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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #529]
Avocado Evangelism
Acts 8:30Ministry often requires creativity. What God is like:
Master of creativity.
1. He inspires creative worship.
2. He inspires creative witness.
Elijah and the soaked altar.
Jesus and woman at the well.
3. He inspires creative teaching.
Jesus preaching from boat.
4. He inspires creative administration.
Moses and Jethro.
What Creative Ministry Is Like:
1. Creative worship spontaneously involves God's people.
2. Creative witness shares naturally.
3. Creative teaching captures interest.
4. Creative administration facilitates ministry.
The Pursuit of Creativity:
1. Become an inquisitive thinker.
2. Become a constant observer.
3. Become a balanced innovator.
The Three Things the Gospel Requires
John 8:36Foundation of the Gospel:
1. The gospel must be preached.
2. The gospel must be received.
3. The gospel requires "standing."
"Your Place In the Harvest"
Mark 4:26Author sent his son on a short-term mission tour of Africa. What God wants us to do so we will be useable for missions:
1. Open our eyes.
2. Open our heart.
3. Offering our life. (and lives of your family)
There are 66,000 unbelievers for every career missionary.
#621
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He Led His Friend To Christ
Acts 9:27Campolo's son Bart beat out Joel for the soccer team, but Joel did not hold it against him because he was a Christian. He became a cheerleader and Bart's friend. He led Bart to salvation, something Campolo had been trying to do for years. Joel had a fantastic testimony.
Witnessing On An Airplane
Man sits next to good-looking woman on airplane, makes moves on her. She unexpectedly pulled out a Bible and read him verses on salvation. Upon landing at Philadelphia airport, Campolo saw them bowed in prayer as man accepted Christ as his Savior.
[see sermon for different layout]
"How A Christian Community Loved a Japanese Student To Christ"
Atsuko Tsunemi was a Japanese student in the U.S. She went to a church's international student outreach because they were going to the zoo. She grew up in a non-religious home and knew little of Christianity. They gave her scientific proofs of Christianity and she secretly believed. She made a full commitment to Jesus after talking it over with her parents; her father gave her his blessing.
"My nearness to God felt bigger and bigger. I had a feeling of God that I never had before. It was like someone telling me, 'Why don't you come?' Like someone knocking ... knocking." One of the girls in the group told her, "That is Christ asking to come into your heart." "Why not?" she said, "I really want to be His child." The little group prayed for Atsuko. "I prayed, too," she whispered. She was baptized at the First Presbyterian Church in Gadsden, Alabama.
Witnessing For Jesus
How Jesus tells us to witness to others.
1. Most Christians hate witnessing.
2. Jesus sets the example.
3. Jesus orders us to do it.
4. Witness out of love for people.
a. Be natural about it.
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The Adult Gospel
Most Christians convert at age 16; Western converts to Islam average 31.
Writer had a Jewish friend who was surprised to find he was a Christian
because "you make so much sense."
Reasons people convert to Christianity:
1. Fears.
2. Other self-regarding factors.
3. Altruistic motives.
4. Following out a moral ideal.
5. Conviction of sin.
6. Response to teaching.
7. Example and imitation.
8. Social pressure.
Five reasons why Westerners choose Islam over Christianity:
a. Simplicity. No theological speculation is required.
b. Rationality. No Trinity, Incarnation, Resurrection of Jesus.
c. Equality.
d. Practicality. This-worldly emphasis.
e. Lacks a priesthood.
How Christians can respond:
a. Simplicity. Salvation by grace is easier than Islam.
b. Rationality. Some is "foolishness" but most is rational.
Christians often confuse converts with nonessentials.
c. Equality. NT also promotes brotherhood.
d. Practicality. Root of NT is OT, which has political/social precepts.
e. Lacks a priesthood. We can stress priesthood of believers.
#1224
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Lifestyle Evangelism
Luke 10:30God's evangelistic strategy is beauty. He desires to build into us the beauty of own character, and then put us on display. Many training programs concentrate on the words, the tools (4 Spiritual Laws). Few teach us how to play the music: that beauty of character God wants to suffuse through our lives. Basically, evangelism is less something we do - a project - than something we are. Others need to see us as people of integrity. Tragically, most Christians have few non-believing friends. [above used 8/24/97]
Church Strategy for Evangelism:
1. What kind of people does the church want to deploy into the world?
2. What kind of church produces that kind of people? (Acts 2)
a. Emphasize instruction.
b. Fellowship.
c. Engage in worship.
d. Specialize in serving others.
e. Find opportunity to say the words (witness).
3. What kind of leadership makes this kind of church possible?
Hospitality
Greek means "a lover of strangers."
We need to make non-Christian friends.
Barriers are cultural, not theological. Few non-Christians have a theological axe to grind.
Four Responses to Culture:
1. Rejection. (separation)
2. Immersion. (liberal)
3. Split adaptation.
Go to church on Sunday, live like pagan (values) rest of week.
4. Critical participation.
Neighbors:
Neighbors are those nearby. We must go to be near them.
A realty firm divided its city into "farms" of 500 families each. Each realtor was responsible to make contact with each home in his farm once a month by phone, letter, or personal visit. It took at least six contacts for a homeowner to remember the realtor, but if the agent maintained that pattern for 18 months, he would receive 80% of the listings for that area. If a realtor can show interest from merely a financial motive, surely we, in the same way, can show interest in our neighbors out of eternal motives.
Christians should choose "five-family farms."
1. Visualize the Spirit hovering over your neighborhood.
2. Extend social relationships.
3. Build friendships.
4. Use common interests and hobbies.
5. Capitalize on special events and holidays.
After a neighbor has seen that we are people of integrity, they will ask us why we are Christians (1 Pet 3:15).
"Why We Don't Witness"
"One dominant reason underlying the increasing reluctance of Christians to
share their faith with non-Christians pertains to the faith sharing experience
itself. In asking Christians about their witnessing activities, we have found
that nine out of ten individuals who attempt to explain their beliefs and
theology to other people come away from those experiences feeling as if they
have failed. The reality of human behavior is that most people avoid those
activities in which they perceive themselves to be failures. As creatures
seeking pleasure and comfort, we emphasize those dimensions and activities in
which we are most capable and secure. Thus, despite the divine command to
spread the Word, many Christians redirect their energies into areas of
spiritual activity that are more satisfying and in which they are more likely
to achieve success."
*1263 ds
In A Position To Save a Life
Mark 10:45Somehow the driver lost control on a small California bridge. In an instant, the car with a family of four in it catapulted through the railing and into the water. Immediately, that car began to disappear beneath the water. In those next frantic moments, the two parents emerged from the car, swimming to the top. Mom had actually been able to free one of her children and help her get out, as well. But their little boy was trapped in the car at the bottom. Meanwhile, a few passersby had gathered on the bridge above. One man, hearing the mother's screams for help for her son, dove from the bridge and into the water. A nurse was actually one of those who also happened to be on the bridge that day. Realizing that the boy was going to need immediate CPR if he was rescued, she shook off her fear and she also plunged into the water. After a short time, the man surfaced - carrying that boy with him. The nurse immediately began working on him, right there in the water. His life was saved by two people who certainly had not planned to rescue anyone that day.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “In a Position to Save a Life.”
It was very moving to see the mother of that rescued little boy tearfully trying to put her gratitude into words. Someone had cared enough to take the risks to save a life just because he happened to be in the right place at the right time to make the difference.
If you belong to Jesus Christ, I hope you see yourself in that picture. Like that man on the bridge, you're in a position to do something about a person who's dying - spiritually dying, that is. The Bible describes people without Christ as “those being led away to death” (Proverbs 24:11). And it adds a command, “Rescue those who are being led away to death.” Who should rescue them? Whoever is in a position to reach them. The Bible uses another example to describe those we know who don't know our Savior. It says they are “in the fire.” And, again, it gives a command. “Snatch others from the fire and save them” (Jude 23). Don't just let them die without a chance. Do something to rescue them.
As you think about the people at work today, at school, in your neighborhood, in your family or the place you shop or recreate - among those people must be those who have probably never been to the cross of Jesus to have their sins forgiven. The only One who can forgive their sins is the One who died to pay for them. And if they die with their sins unforgiven, they have no chance of getting into God's heaven. You know that. You know Christ. You know them - which means you're responsible.
Living a Christ-honoring life before them is important, but it's not enough. You have to tell them about Jesus' death for their sins. They won't guess that because you're a nice person. The reason you haven't is probably your fear. Jesus said in Mark 10:45, our word for today from the Word of God, “Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Our fears are all about “me” - what might happen to me if I tell them about Jesus; how I might mess it up. But Jesus abandoned Himself to save us. Rescuers always do that. They have a greater fear than what might happen to them. It's what might happen to the dying person if they don't try to rescue them.
Years ago, God spoke to Moses about His enslaved people and He said, “I have come down to rescue them ... I am sending you” (Exodus 3:8,10). He's saying the same thing to you about the lost people within your reach. It's no accident you are where you are, who you are, doing what you do. God has put you in a position to help save some lives and help some people be in heaven with you. It's the most important thing you have to do; the most important difference you can possibly make with the rest of your life.
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Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"
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[Original illustration at this number was deleted for being obsolete]
You Don't Need A Sign
A Baptist deacon was under conviction about his lack of evangelistic success. He wanted to be a good witness for Jesus but he felt he never had any good opportunities. One day, before taking a business trip, he poured out his heart to God. He asked God to give him a sign, a definite leading to witness to some soul, anyone.
He arrived at the airport and got on his plane. A husky man sat in the seat next to him. "How has your day been?" the deacon asked solicitously. A pained expression came over the heavy-set man's face and he began to spill out his concerns. "My wife just left me... I may be laid off soon... I don't know where to turn! I've even considered ending it all, but I can't bring myself to do it. I was brought up in church but I didn't understand it. What can I do? Oh, what can I do?"
The deacon sat there stunned, then bowed his head and prayed, "Lord, give me a sign! Please give me a sign!"
Bringing People To Jesus
John 1:35Sermon on introducing people to Jesus (witnessing) with special application
to Billy Graham crusade.
1. Importance of "nobodies."
2. Andrew, brother of Jesus, was a second fiddle.
3. He was good at introducing people to Jesus.
4. All Christians can be like Andrew.
5. How churches grow.
a. Billy Graham crusade and prayer triplets. [1558]
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They Never Asked
Luke 21:13Moshe Rosen discusses the importance for young people to witness to their parents. His own parents disowned him because he converted from Judaism to Christianity. His father said to him, “You are never to mention Christ, the Bible, or your religion to your mother or to me, or to any of the family.” A deacon in his church told him to be a “silent witness,” and that a time would come when they would ask about his faith. Seventeen years after he accepted the reconciliation with his parents, his mother went into a Christless eternity. His father followed in another decade. “They never asked.”
There is no such thing as a “silent witness.” Being a silent witness doesn't work because the focus is on whether we can be good and righteous. Our message should not be who we are but who He is.
They Were Afraid To Get Swamped
Luke 19:10Survivor Eva Hart remembers the night April 15, 1912, on which the Titanic plunged 12,000 feet to the Atlantic floor, some two hours and forty minutes after an iceberg tore a 300-foot gash in her starboard side: "I saw all the horror of its sinking, and I heard, even more dreadful, the cries of drowning people."
Although twenty lifeboats and rafts were launched -- too few and only partly filled -- most of the passengers ended up struggling in the icy seas while those in the boats waited a safe distance away.
Lifeboat #14 did row back to the scene after the "unsinkable" ship slipped from sight at 2:20 a.m. Alone, it chased cries in the darkness, seeking and saving a precious few. Incredibly, no other boat joined it. Some were already overloaded, but in virtually every other boat, those already saved rowed their half-filled boats aimlessly in the night, listening to the cries of the lost. Each feared a crush of unknown swimmers would cling to their craft, eventually swamping it.
"I came to seek and to save the lost," our Savior said. And he commissioned us to do the same. But we face a large obstacle: fear. While people drown in the treacherous waters around us, we are tempted to stay dry and make certain no one rocks the boat. Yet the boat is not ours, and our safety came only at the expense of the one who overcame fear with love -- and saved us.
"Prayer and Spiritual Warfare"
Acts 4:24Sermon in Ephesians series: "PRAYER AND SPIRITUAL WARFARE" Eph 6:18-24
I. The popularity of prayer.
A. Most Americans pray.
B. Not an unnamed weapon, but pervades all of spiritual warfare.
C. Prayer is in "the Spirit," prompted and guided by him.
II. How we should pray. Eph 6:18
A. Most Christians pray sometimes, with some prayers and
B. Christian prayer should be comprehensive. (four "alls")
1) On all occasions.
2) With all kinds of prayer and requests.
3) With all perseverance - always keep on praying.
4) Making supplication for all the saints.
III. Prayer for Christians. Eph 6:18b-19
A. Jesus never prayed directly for a lost soul.
B. In some places, prayer for unsaved may be inferred indirectly.
C. Christ tells us to pray for harvesters, not harvest. Matt 9:38
IV. Prayer for Harvesters. Eph 6:19
A. Pray for me, Paul.
B. Paul requests prayer for an open door. Acts 16:6-10, Rev 3:7
C. Paul desired courage to witness.
D. Paul desired a message. 6:19
V. Real evangelism begins not by talking to people about God, but by
A. Pray that Christians will come in path of your unsaved loved ones.
B. Real revivals begin with Christians, not pagans.
C. When Christians are built up, evangelism takes place.
VI. Fitting conclusion. 6:21-24
A. Paul's encouragement. 6:22
B. Paul's wish. 6:23-24 #1832
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Scripture Made Him Cry
Mark 2:3Gideon Alan Pirrello was doing a Scripture distribution at a nursing home on March 14, 1992. He asked the director about the age range and was told the residents were from 23 to 100 years old. Alan was curious as to why a 23-year-old would be in a nursing home and asked to see him. Seven years previously, at age 15, Ronato had been hit by a truck and had been in a deep coma ever since.
Pirrello read him some Scripture and told the unresponsive body about the love of Jesus Christ for him and asked him to receive Jesus as his Savior. Everyone was stunned when tears began to roll down his cheeks. The nurses said they had never seen him cry for any reason.
Pilot Tells Passengers To Discuss Christianity
An American Airlines pilot who had just returned from a religious mission trip to Costa Rica was flying an airliner back to New York. He made a special announcement to his passengers.
First, he asked the Christians to identify themselves. Then he told everyone else to start a conversation with the Christians. He concluded by saying, “You have a choice. You can sit back and just have a nice plane ride. Or you can experience something that'll change your life. It's up to you.”
The airline received multiple complaints.
Here is advice from a pastor: Do you want to be left alone on a plane ride? Just open your Bible...
One of our fears (and especially a fear that non-Christians have) is being trapped in a religious discussion that we cannot escape. Visualize having two Jehovah's Witnesses at your doorstep. Many non-believers feel the same way about us.
*
[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #14002
Strive To Be Persecuted?
John 16:2But how do you strive to be persecuted? Some people seem to be good at it.
A guy I knew in seminary was recently featured in InterVarsity magazine. His name was Cliffe Knechtle, and on weekends he evangelized bars, in Boston. The bars were the blue-collar type with a TV up in one corner. Everytime the Celtics or the Bruins lost a game some drunk would invariably stand up and curse God at the top of his lungs. Where-upon Cliffe would stand up and say, "Gentlemen, I demand equal time. If you can curse God at the top of your lungs then I can say something positive about God at the top of mine."
Following a short sermon, Cliffe would experience various forms of persecution, from cold indifference, to getting bounced out on the sidewalk.
One day a reporter went along with him. After watching him get ejected from several beer joints he told Cliffe, "By my definition, you are a failure."
#2450
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"Receiving Power"
Acts 1:1Sermon in Acts series. Acts 1:1-11
===============
RECEIVING POWER
===============
I. Transition to a new era.
II. Expectations of a coming kingdom. Acts 1:6
A. His disciples expected an imminent, political kingdom.
B. Jesus does not deny reality of kingdom, but moves the focus.
C. Right now, Jesus is present with us in the Holy Spirit.
III. Wait for the Spirit of power. Acts 1:4
A. Power came at Pentecost, the moment they received the Spirit.
B. What happened when the disciples got the Spirit.
IV. Spiritual power is available, but not automatic.
V. Firming up our connection.
A. Read Scripture, with personal application.
B. Pray with discipline.
C. Seek fellowship with Spirit-filled Christians.
D. Get involved in service to people.
VI. Power to be witnesses. Acts 1:8
"Almost Persuaded?"
Acts 26:19Sermon in Acts series. Paul's defense before Agrippa. Acts 26:19-29
=================
ALMOST PERSUADED?
=================
I. "Here I stand."
II. The reaction of the worldly mind. 26:24
A. Festus was worldly-minded.
B. He deflected by saying message was too deep to comprehend.
C. Paul's response: the gospel is simple and factual. 26:26
III. The reaction of the cynical mind. 26:28
A. Paul gives an invitation to Agrippa.
B. Almost persuaded?
C. Why people choose to evade gospel.
D. Finding answers.
IV. Breaking chains. 26:29
A. Paul turns the rejection into an invitation.
B. Paul was not limited by his circumstances.
V. Have you been persuaded?
#2552
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"They Need and Want To Know"
2 Corinthians 5:14Sermon in 12 Step series. Step 12: Witnessing 2 Corinthians 5:14-21
==========================
THEY NEED AND WANT TO KNOW
==========================
Step 12:
"Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps,
we tried to carry this message to alcoholics,
and to practice these principles in all our affairs."
I. Everyone has a story.
II. People need to hear.
A. The gospel is not just a nice option.
B. People need to hear, because they are alienated from God.
C. If we do believe this, we harm people by being quiet.
III. People want to hear.
A. There is a spiritual hunger in our society.
B. We have to have a heart that sees the hunger and need.
IV. We should want to tell them.
A. God's love compels us. 2 Cor 5:14
B. It has to happen to us before it can happen to them. 2 Cor 5:16
C. Sharing the message keeps us straight.
V. Seeking out those who will hear.
A. Early AA went to hospital alcoholic wards, looking for the worst
B. Jesus also took the initiative.
C. God has no voice but our voice.
#2608
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Witnessing By Going the Extra Mile
John 13:35Celeste Holwick witnessed to another nurse by going the extra mile, and not forcing the gospel on her:
Celeste Holwick is a registered nurse works the "graveyard shift" at Dover Hospital. This particular night was busy because the staffing was thin. Celeste took one side of a floor, and a nurse she did not know took the other side. Being the kind of person she is, Celeste finished nursing her patients, and went over to help the other nurse. She was flabbergasted - almost no other nurse did this!
She turned to Celeste and asked, "Celeste Holwick - are you that preacher's wife I've heard about?" "Yes, that's me." "Oh. Are you one of those born-again types? My brother became one a few years ago."
Celeste went on to explain how she viewed being born again. It is something that God does for us. The nurse had a quizzical look on her face, then said, "I'm not a born-again type. I'm an atheist."
Celeste wasn't sure how to respond to this, and soon the patients began ringing them. All night long Celeste wondered if she should have been more forceful with her co-worker. But in the morning the nurse came up to her again.
"You're not like the other born-again people I know. All my brother's friends are born-againers, and when I told them I was an atheist, they came over and pounded me with their Bibles. You really seem to be different."
Celeste IS a special kind of person. But every Christian has an obligation to share the gospel. It's not just our words, because they want to see some evidence in us. But once they see the evidence, we have to tell them why we are this way. If something real has happened to you, and you really care, you have to share.
#2610
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His Tongue Was Missing
Luke 1:64In November 1963 Central Committee's secretary for ideological affairs called for intensification of anti-religious propaganda. Four members from the Kalunda community in Western Siberia were arrested for illegal activities in an unregistered congregation and given prison sentences.
One of the men, Nikolai K. Khmara, had been converted only a few years before after leading a life of drunkenness. His conversion had transformed him into a model husband, father, and active church worker.
Two weeks after the trial, his family received word that he had died due to illness. Contrary to instructions, the Kalunda believers insisted on opening the coffin and found a brutally mutilated body. There were chain marks on his arms, scorch marks on his hands and feet, his finger- and toenails had been torn off, and there were gaping wounds in his abdomen made by a hot object. The most revolting part occurred when someone pulled the cotton stuffing out of his mouth and discovered that Khmara's tongue was missing. Other prisoners later informed them that Khmara had talked about Christ till the end and therefore his captors had torn out his tongue. Khmara had also suffered psychological torture, receiving injections to create a personality change. This brought to five the numbers of persons who had died in prison and exile.
#2719
"Remember the Wonders"
1 Chronicles 16:7Sermon for Thanksgiving 1994. 1 Chronicles 16:7-12
====================
REMEMBER THE WONDERS
====================
I. Thanks in a church setting.
A. Israel had special services of thanksgiving, just like us.
B. We are less emotional.
C. God made us to be worshipers, but most of us do not worship well.
II. Are you thankful for the gifts, or to the Giver?
A. Thanksgiving has become:
B. We are not ungrateful, but...
C. David tells us to call upon God.
III. God likes publicity.
A. Testimony - tell of all his wonderful acts. 1 Chr 16:9
B. Witness - proclaim his salvation. 1 Chr 16:23
C. Missions - make known among the nations. 1 Chr 16:8
IV. Remembering the wonders. 1 Chr 16:12
A. Personal blessings - what God has done for us.
B. Past miracles God has done for others.
V. Seeking God. 1 Chr 16:10
A. Not just at conversion, but ALWAYS. (v. 11)
B. A vision of God can keep us going.
#2863
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He Made It His Business
Acts 1:8A well-dressed Chicago businessman was accosted on the street by a frumpty looking man. "Brother, are you saved?" The businessman bristled and replied, "I don't think that's any of your business." "I make it my business," the frumpty one replied. "In that case you must be D. L. Moody."
#2869
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Ignite Your Passion For the Lost
Luke 15Apathetic about the unsaved? Here's how to put spark back in your witnessing.
Main questions: Are people really lost? Terminology seems too harsh. We prefer to call sinners "seekers." Is Jesus the only way? Multiculturalism rejects this.
1. Catch the passion from others.
2. Open your eyes.
3. Put yourself in their position.
4. Study their biblical fate.
5. Ask God for a "divine appointment."
6. Be imitators of Jesus.
A Time To Sow, A Time To Reap
Luke 8:4Christians can learn to say the right thing at the right time when it comes to evangelism.
When someone says, "Well, I don't understand how you can say 'God loves us' when the world is in such a mess," there are six possible responses from Christians:
1. Launch into an earnest sermonette on the existence of God. [apologetics]
2. Mumble an ambivalent argument and change the subject. [mumble]
3. Zero in on the real issue: the reality of original sin. [apologetics]
4. Speak slowly and loudly on the blessing of justification,
sanctification and the glorification of the Christian.
Talk down to them. [religious language]
*5. Ask about "the mess." Where is this person's unhappiness
with the messy world? Listen for hints or confessions
of an inner, personal mess.
*6. Just keep listening as the person continues.
The last two are the best responses. Most people acknowledge the need for sensitivity, listening skills, and seek to apply the gospel to a person's need or hurt. Information is not what people usually look for first when they are hurting, vulnerable, or sharing feelings, and defending the facts of faith can actually kill the conversation. In the distrustful and skeptical hearts of people today, religious reasoning is rarely the starting point of a spiritual journey. [above used 8/24/97]
James Engel offers a summary of the process of a person's heart becoming good soil for the seed of God's Word. It can help Christians be insightful.
-10 Awareness of the supernatural.
- 9 No effective knowledge of Christianity.
- 8 Initial awareness of Christianity.
- 7 Interest in Christianity.
- 6 Awareness of the basic facts of the gospel.
- 5 Grasp of the implications of the gospel.
- 4 Positive attitude to the gospel.
- 3 Awareness of personal need.
- 2 Challenge and decision to act.
- 1 Repentance and faith.
0 A new disciple is born.
A. Grace opens the door for truth.
B. Evangelists must "know the soil."
C. Be patient.
D. People need to hear the same words in a fresh way.
Many are inoculated to the gospel and don't really listen.
Just as sitting in a garage doesn't make one a car, so sitting in
a church doesn't make one a Christian.
Turning Barriers Into Bridges
Luke 19:1A fill-in-the-blanks Bible study that looks at how Jesus and the early evangelists broke through the barriers of their day and built bridges to people.
A Time To Sow, A Time To Reap
Acts 2:37Robbie Castleman heard a Christian physics professor defend Christianity on a state university campus a few years ago. He has been nominated for the Nobel Prize more than once[*], has pages of academic accolades, and became a Christian well into his faculty career. After listening to his brilliant multi-point presentation of why he found Christianity credible, Castleman spoke to this professor and his wife. She asked him what first got him to consider the Christian faith. His answer was very different from what he had shared that night.
His journey to faith began after the death of his child. He noticed that his wife’s grief began to give way to some hope and healing that he could not understand nor experience. When he asked her about it, she confessed that she had been attending a Bible study with friends and had become a Christian. He was surprised, intrigued, and open to anything that would comfort his pain and emptiness. He, too, began to share his grief within his new circle of friends. They opened their hearts and the Scriptures to this professor and his wife.
He felt free to ask questions, seek the truth of the Christian faith, express doubts, and finally trust the Lord, because his feelings of grief were accepted and shared. Empathy preceded answers. His evangelists were first listeners.
After the professor finished, Castleman thanked him for this personal story of faith. And she suggested that this part of his life’s story be included in what he shared with others about the Christian faith. She encouraged him to remember that grace opened the door of truth for him. This is true in the hearts and lives of most people who need to hear the gospel.
________
[*] Holwick: This is possible but very unlikely. The Nobel website says "Information about the nominations, investigations, and opinions concerning the award is kept secret for fifty years."
Evangelism
John 20:31Louis Pasteur, the pioneer of immunology, lived at a time when thousands of people died each year of rabies. Pasteur had worked for years on a vaccine. Just as he was about to begin experimenting on himself, a 9-year-old, Joseph Meister, was bitten by a rabid dog. The boy's mother begged Pasteur to experiment on her son. Pasteur injected Joseph for ten days -- and the boy lived.
Decades later, of all the things Pasteur could have had etched on his headstone, he asked for three words: JOSEPH MEISTER LIVED.
Our greatest legacy will be those who live eternally because of our efforts.
-- R. Wayne Willis, Louisville, Kentucky
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Copyright(c) 1996 by Christianity Today, Inc./LEADERSHIP journal
Summer 1996 Vol.XVII, No.3, Page 64
Contagious
I am of the opinion that Christians should be a little like a paper mill. I once heard a story about a mama skunk and her babies. The skunk family one day passed close by a paper mill. (If you've never been close to a paper mill you'll get the drift of this right away.) One of the baby skunks, almost overcome by the odor sniffed the air and said, "Mama, what in the world is that smell?" The mama skunk sniffed and answered, "I don't know, but we've sure got to get some of it!"
I believe as Christians, we need to live an exuberant, joyful life so that when anyone sees us they sill automatically say, "I don't know what that person has, but whatever it is, I've got to have some of it.
- Zig Ziglar
Conversations: Whatever Happened To Evangelism? Luis Palau Interview
Luke 13:23Luis Palau wants to rekindle our passion for the lost.
Growing up in Argentina, Luis Palau did not feel much like an evangelist, as he was merely doing "what everyone else in [his] church was doing": winning people to Christ. But when he was 18 years old, he heard a young preacher named Billy Graham on the radio and prayed that he, too, would become an evangelist one day.
More than 40 years and 300-plus crusades later, Palau now hopes to fulfill another vision: the further development of his ministry in the U.S. with his current "Say Yes Chicago" crusade. He has already made his presence well known in Central and South America, as well as in Europe and elsewhere, through crusades that use his bilingual ability and sensitivity to a multitude of cultures.As he prepared for this April campaign, Palau spoke with CHRISTIANITY TODAY about evangelism, crusades, and American Christianity.
WHY DO YOU FEEL EVANGELISM IS THE CHURCH'S NUMBER-ONE PRIORITY?
If there is no evangelism, there is no church to deal with the other priorities. Discipleship is obviously a strong, ongoing church priority; but there's no one to disciple if you haven't evangelized in the first place. When Jesus went to heaven, the uppermost command on his mind was "Go into all the world and make disciples." Yes, the church exists for the glory of God. But in practice, evangelism should never leave a Christian's mind. The church is always one generation away from extinction. Why are you able to worship? Because God rescued you through the work of someone who evangelized you.
HAVE OTHER CHRISTIANS OPPOSED YOU ON THIS ISSUE?
I find that the people who most argue against evangelism as a priority haven't won a soul to Christ in decades. They are afraid of the nonbeliever. In almost every case, they stay within their closed circles. We scream at the world with our magazines and our microphones, but we don't mingle with the people in the world to bring them to Jesus Christ.
Sometimes we hide behind theological statements that go beyond Scripture. Sometimes we hide by saying, "I'm just much too busy carrying on my gift." And we forget that witnessing is not an option. We are all supposed to be witnesses.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PRIORITIES AMERICAN CHURCHES HAVE PUT IN PLACE OF EVANGELISM?
We see some Christian circles replacing evangelism with only social action. Now, I'm committed to social action, but when it so absorbs us that we have no time for rescuing the perishing, then we have replaced the priority. After all, evangelism is social action. It is the most fundamental social action in history -- the most profound and real act of love there is. And that's why it's so strange that we hold back from practicing it.
WHAT ARE YOUR OPINIONS ABOUT CHRISTIANS BEING INVOLVED IN POLITICS?
Those who are called to enter the political arena should take it as a ministry from the Lord. I don't care if he or she is left wing, right wing, an atheist, or a religious leader; I always tell politicians, "Your position is a delegated authority from God, and you are a minister of God" (Rom. 13). So I encourage them to think of justice and righteousness, and to defend the poor and the needy. That's the role of a politician.
I think that Paul, if he were here, would encourage young people to be the salt and the light in public places. But politics has its limits. Don't expect from politics what politics cannot deliver. Don't confuse the kingdom of God with party politics.
WOULD YOU CONSIDER CHRISTIANS WITHOUT THE GIFT OF EVANGELISM DISOBEDIENT IF THEY WERE TO SPEND MORE TIME DEVELOPING THEIR OWN SPIRITUAL GIFTS?
While only some have the gift of evangelism and will do things like speak at mass crusades, all of us should be witnessing continually. This doesn't mean we're always giving out the gospel, but it does mean we are endlessly seeking open doors, pushing the doors that seem open, taking advantage of opportunities -- not obsessively, but consciously -- while saying, "I am to witness to the gospel as much as I can with the Holy Spirit's power."
SO WHEN YOU SAY "EVANGELISM," YOU'RE NOT MERELY THINKING OF LIVING OUT THE LOVE OF CHRIST IN PRACTICAL WAYS. YOU MEAN SPECIFICALLY SHARING THE GOSPEL.
You have not been a true witness to Jesus Christ until you have openly, clearly, lovingly presented the message of John 3:16. Witnessing to Jesus Christ is done through one's life, but the life has no meaning if the lips do not speak. Until you've done that, you have not been a full witness to Jesus Christ. People cannot guess why you're such a good neighbor unless you openly, clearly express your faith in Christ.
DO YOU FEEL THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS HAVE LOST A SENSE OF EVANGELISTIC FERVOR?
When I was in Chicago doing launch rallies for "Say Yes Chicago," a taxi driver took me to a press conference at Grant Park. The driver was a Muslim from Sudan, very talkative and eager to make me a Muslim. He was trying to convert me in the course of a ten-minute drive. I told him I was a Christian, which began a quick discussion about Jesus Christ. After a few minutes, he said, "Islam is going to win in America. And we're going to win in the world. You Christians do not really believe Jesus Christ is the only answer and the only One."
I said, "Of course we believe that." He said, "No, you don't. I've been here for six years, and I've hardly met a single American that believes Jesus is the only One and the only way and the only answer." [used 3-31-96]
I was amazed, moved, rebuked, and ashamed. Here was a foreigner in America unashamedly trying to convert me in ten minutes. And meanwhile, we Christians beat around the bush. We are not convinced that people without Christ are truly, truly lost forever. If we did, we wouldn't be able to rest. We would jump at the chance to be part of a citywide crusade. If we believed that people were irrevocably lost without Christ, we would take advantage of every chance to preach the gospel.
WITH REGARD TO EVANGELISM, WHAT'S MISSING IN AMERICAN CHURCHES COMPARED TO CHURCHES IN OTHER CULTURES?
The passion has been lost only in the Western nations -- Western Europe, America, and Canada. The rest of the world, at this time, is fired up.
On the whole, Christians outside Western Europe and North America are utterly convinced that Jesus is the only way, that the greater good is more important than minor peculiarities, and that the unsaved are condemned to a Christless eternity.
But they also demonstrate a greater obedience and a practical conviction that the Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God. As people begin to disobey Scripture, they begin to doubt its authority.
HOW DOES CRUSADE EVANGELISM IN AMERICA DIFFER FROM CRUSADE EVANGELISM ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD?
Interestingly enough, America is the toughest country in the world to get denominations to work together. America talks up the "one nation under God" theme, but it's pure theory. The major work in a citywide crusade is not touching the nonconverted. It is bringing the churches together to touch the unconverted.
We Christians forget that if we don't evangelize America, we have lost the nation. We have lost our children and grandchildren. Conversion is seldom talked about today. We are being so careful, so proper, we forget that, unless people are converted, they will not enter the kingdom of God.
HOW WOULD YOU RESPOND TO THOSE WHO SAY CRUSADES ARE NOT EFFECTIVE IN REACHING UNCHURCHED PEOPLE?
Critics may be right that some crusade evangelism is not well-aimed at non- Christians. But our hope is that every person in the city or the nation we're in will hear the clear message of Jesus Christ.
Crusade evangelism isn't just the meetings at the stadium, not in our definition. We have luncheons, breakfasts, and dinners where much of the time 60 percent of those attending are nonconverted people. We use secular television; we work with the secular press in advance to get our message into the papers.
You always wish more unbelievers were at the stadium. But in this generation, the stadium is not the number-one vehicle for leading people to Christ. People like to stay home nights and be comfortable. But without the stadium, we wouldn't have the affinity groups, the luncheons, breakfasts, dinners. It would be much more difficult to buy television time, or to grab the attention of the media, or to attract the youth, if we didn't have the stadium events. But that the gospel is heard by nonbelievers is unquestionable.
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Copyright (c) 1996 Christianity Today, Inc./CHRISTIANITY TODAY Magazine
Volume 40, No. 4, page 38 ctap0896mrj6T403836319
First-Person: Physician From Vietnam Finds U. S. Mission Field
John 6:66Vinh Le’s voyage to freedom became a journey to missions.
The Christian physician who fled Vietnam in 1982 is now a home missionary serving as a pastor and church starter in Denver.
Le’s grandfather was the first person in his family to leave Buddhism for Christianity. The grandfather made his decision when he was in his 60s, and it resulted in his wife and all but one of his seven children deserting him. The one child who also embraced Christianity was Le’s father.
Le became a Christian at 16, and he began to lead music groups at his church while he studied medicine. He graduated from medical school in 1966 and began his medical practice.
As Le treated patients, he also talked to them about Christ. He witnessed without constraints until 1975 when communists took over Vietnam. “They put pressure on me to keep my mouth shut,” Le says. “In the hospital I talked to patients about the Lord. The director of the hospital hated that.”
Le and his family prepared to leave Vietnam in 1975, but “the Lord did not let us. God wanted us to stay, so we stayed.” When government leaders threatened to put Le in a concentration camp because of his Christian witness, he says, “I realized it was time God wanted me to go out.”
Le’s family could not leave the country together. Four of his children came to the United States in 1981, Le escaped in 1982, and his wife and two youngest children came seven years later.
Le says he left Vietnam “on a small boat that was very dangerous at sea.” On the journey, Le shared Christ with his fellow passengers, and 35 of the 39 people on board became Christians. Despite bad weather conditions, “we arrived with celebration.”
Le was in a refugee camp in the Philippines before arriving in Denver in 1983. In the United States, he took an exam that would allow him to work as a physician, but could not pass it because he had not mastered the English versions of medical terminology.
Instead, he earned a master’s degree from Denver Seminary, a Conservative Baptist institution. He is currently working toward a doctorate from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in California.
In the meantime, Le became concerned for Vietnamese people in Colorado who were not Christians. Since 1983, he has started seven Southern Baptist missions, and he currently serves as pastor of Vietnamese missions in Aurora and Colorado Springs. Le says he hopes someone else will become pastor of the Colorado Springs mission because he would like to start another mission in Littleton. He has identified needs for Vietnamese churches in Bloomfield; another site in Colorado Springs; Omaha and Lincoln, Neb.; and New Mexico.
He’s also concerned about people still in Vietnam. “There’s only one Baptist church in Vietnam officially,” Le says. “People there need the Lord. I am burdened for how to do that.” Yet Le says he has no long-term goals other than to “walk with the Lord one step at a time.” His motivation is love. “When we love the Lord with all our heart, we want people to know him and come to him.”
One way Le and the Vietnamese missions reach out to newcomers is through refugee assistance. Le converted his carport to a storage area for household items to give to families arriving from Vietnam.
At 57, Le says he has no plans to slow down. “I don’t believe in burn-out. When we depend on him, he renews our strength. The more we do, the more strength we get from him.”
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Copyright (c) 1995 Baptist Press