January 2009

Back in 1999 I wrote this newsletter indicating the thoughts of many people during that time. They thought the end of the world as we know it was coming to a climax by the end of the millennium. Guess what? We’re still here. As the Bible so clearly points out to us, we will not know when the end will come, no matter how much we think we know.

We still see church attendance dropping, even though we have churchy activities going on seven days a week. Again the question is, why? There must be some hidden bible passage that says we just have to live a good Christian life and people will come to the Lord based on our presentation of godly living. If you really believe that, you shouldn’t be reading this newsletter. I guess we are still in the ‘build it and they will come’ syndrome. So many of us think that the pastor is the person who leads the unsaved to the Lord. Somehow I just can’t seem to find that passage. My bible says it one way in Matthew 28:19-20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo I am with you always even to the end of the age.”

As I understand things, people see our Christ like behavior and just want to know the Lord. Looking at this position, all I see is the glory going to the person, not to God. It all boils down to a couple of fears. The fear of rejection and fear of intimidation, which will keep us from sharing the good news to those people who are looking, but don’t know how to find what they are looking for. If we just opened our mouths and gave them logical thoughts and scripture to back it up, just maybe……But you say, “We do call on our visitors.” Great! What do you talk about? Possibly things like how did you like the service or event? Do you think we should have more events like this? Or, Do you know anyone who might like to come to an event or service like this? Do we make an attempt at sharing some scripture with them and leave them dangling, hoping they might call us or come to church on Sunday? Maybe we even try to give some sort of account of the Gospel…Good for you! At least you’re trying. Did you know the Gospel can be explained to an unsaved person without hitting them with ‘church jargon’ or condemning their own beliefs or church activities? Did you know you can share the Gospel in an effective simple manner in less than an hour? Did you know many people accept Jesus as their personal savior as a result of such a discussion? Did you know that you don’t have to establish a long term personal relationship with these people before you share the Gospel with them?

Did Jesus and the disciples send letters or establish long term relationships before sharing the ‘Good News’ with them. I kind of thought they actually went face to face with people. Letters and phone calls are a very coool (as in icy) way to contact people. But, I have to agree, there is NO rejection possibilities here.

This is the beginning of 2009, of a monthly column looking at sharing the Gospel with our friends, relatives and acquaintances, and we will be dealing with this matter with some very heavy weights attached. This column is not taking shots at any fundamental Christian faith. Rather, it will identify the areas that need a little or maybe a lot of help, and plug in the pieces that God instructs us to carry out. Church events are not wasteful times if they are designed to fulfill the direction of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. If we are conducting church events with our own church body in mind, we are missing pieces in the big picture.

We can do so much with our church activities. Let’s get with it! The Bible tells us to be fully armed. (Ephesians 6:10) What are we waiting for?

Each month we will attempt to cover a particular area of reaching people for the Lord. You don’t want to miss an issue of this newsletter.

♦ This arrived on my email one day. I don’t know where it came from, but the message is quite appropriate.

A Christian
Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a church in Houston , Texas . Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change.

As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, 'You'd better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it.' Then he thought, 'Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet.' When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, “Here, you gave me too much change.” The driver, with a smile, replied,

“Aren't you the new preacher in town?” 'Yes' he replied. 'Well, I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change.

I'll see you at church on Sunday.”When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, “Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.”

Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read. This is a really scary example of how much people watch us as Christians, and will put us to the test! Always be on guard -- and remember –

You carry the name of Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself 'Christian.'
Watch your thoughts; they become
words.
Watch your words; they become
actions.
Watch your actions; they become
habits.
Watch your habits; they become
character.
Watch your character; it becomes your
destiny.

†
Making a List
….I’m making a list, checking it twice, maybe even thrice, finding out which merchants are ungodly or nice……Sound a little familiar. The words are changed slightly, but the meaning is there.
Christmas is over, but the wonderful happening of the time is not forgotten. We’ve exchanged gifts, had great fellowship with friends and relatives, and in general, had a smile on our faces. As we sit and recall what happened during this period approximately 2000 years ago, we see a small baby in a manger, nothing too fancy, but adequate. We also see the Wise Men bringing gifts for the Christ child. Even then gifts were used to celebrate this wondrous event.
That brings us to things happening today. There are special interest groups determined to drive Christ out of Christmas.

These groups are not large, but they make a lot of noise about being offended by a ‘religious holiday’. As a result many retail businesses have done away with anything that might lend some sort of credence to Jesus Christ, or God in general. They have done away with Christmas music, or any display of what Christmas is all about. I would ask you, what about the large group of people who celebrate the birth of Christ during this period? Are they not offended now? I don’t know about you, but now I’m offended by the actions of these merchants across the land. To try and take on one of these merchants alone would amount to nothing, but there are over 200 million of us across this great country that are not going to sit back for this treatment. Hence, I’m making a list, checking it twice or even thrice, of those merchants that want to cater to the small noisy groups. If you know of any merchants that have fallen over to the other side, let me know by email: ee1gary@aol.com, and I’ll add them to the list. About next September we’ll start letting people know about those merchants who don’t really want your patronage.

Know when to speak
“How do I know when to speak about the Gospel?” This is one of the most interesting times in a conversation. If you are talking with a person who visited your church, it’s pretty easy to get into a conversation about the Gospel. If you are having coffee with a neighbor or relative, it might be a little more challenging. Let’s look at a couple examples of how you might approach a topic like the Gospel without causing any rough feelings.

When you visit with a church visitor, a conversation can go from secular to spiritual topics with an easy transition, from asking what they liked about in the church to asking them a couple questions. Always ask if you may ask the questions. The first question would be: “If you were to die today, have you come to a point in your spiritual life that you know you would go to heaven, or is this something you are still working on?” Answers will vary from yes, I will go to heaven, to I don’t know, or I don’t believe you can know whether or not you are going to heaven.

This is a great time to point out that the Bible tells us we can know that we have eternal life, (1 James 5:13).

A second question would be: “Let’s say you died and are standing before God, and He asked you why He should let you into His heaven.” How do you think you would respond to this question? Answers will encompass everything you can think of. Usually if the answer starts off with the word “I”, it’s a sign of a works answer. If the person just doesn’t have an answer to give you, that’s a pretty good sign that they need someone to share the ‘good news’ with them.

Ok, you’ve gotten this far. What happens next? An easy way to move into the Gospel is to ask the person if you may share with them how you came to know that you had eternal life and how they may know also. You have taken the threat of intimidation right out of the picture. It is very likely they will say, “sure, go ahead.”

You now have their permission to share the Gospel. Feelings will not be hurt. No one feels threatened, and God is with you all the way.

First words out of your mouth….
Heaven is a FREE gift!!!!

We’ll discuss Grace next month.