Reaching the Lost for Christ

Luke 4:18

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me [Jesus], because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed

Mark 16:15

"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."

Luke 9:6

"So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere."

Click to see how preaching the Gospel led to a revival in Egypt

"Preaching" can simply be sharing with others what God has done for you!

However we tell others about our amazing God, He will be pleased and glorified.

Many believers want to simply do the bare minimum and just go to church once a week or maybe just a few times a year. But that is not acting like true believers. Jesus said,

"If you love me, obey my commandments" (John 14:15).

The central part of any loving relationship is loyalty.

It doesn't matter how much a person loves their spouse, if they are disloyal and cheat on them then the relationship is severely compromised and without fixing that problem it will fail.

Our challenge to you is to find ways to serve God and others. Make that your service to the Lord. The best place to start is working to tell others the good news of Jesus win souls for Him. And don't forget, the Bible commands us to do that.

If God revealed to you the cure for cancer, would you keep it to yourself and not try to tell anyone else? Of course not! At the same time, our eternal salvation is much better than that, because God can and does heal people of cancer and everything else that needs healed.

The main 2 ways you can with others to Christ are by praying for them and telling them how He has transformed you and helped you.

Here is a good 4-fold strategy for how to effectively pray for people's salvation:

Know that there is a veil blocking them from the revelation of Jesus.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 says,

If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. (NLT)

1) So in Jesus’ name, pray for (or command) the veil blocking them from the revelation of Jesus is torn off their face.

2) Then pray that the wisdom, glory, and revelation of Jesus Christ shine into their hearts and minds (see Ephesians 1:17).

3) Pray for God to help them accept and believe in Jesus, repent of their sins, and be saved.

4) You can also pray for God to send the right people to them at the right time to share the Gospel with them.

See the last section of this page for a good approach that Ray Comfort uses.

Ray is a professional evangelist. Also consider handing out tracts (his website has many good ones you can buy).

Many people have been saved through tracts. The founder of M11M made a tract and you can click to view it here.

The Purpose For Jesus' Death and Resurrection

Ray Comfort is a magnetic evangelist with a powerful message. He has figured out why Christian churches throughout the United States have become largely dead and stopped going out into the world to teach others about the Gospel message of the purpose For Jesus' death and resurrection over the past few hundred years. Here is a link to Hell's Best Kept Secret on Ray's website, which details this further, but I will provide a brief summary of what Ray is showing others below.

Hell's Best Kept Secret
(YouTube Video)

On Ray's website, he states: "Why do 80-90% of those making a decision for Christ fall away from the faith? What is the biblical principle that Spurgeon, Wesley, Whitefield, etc., used to reach the lost? Why has the Church neglected it? Don't let anything stop you from listening to this incredible teaching."

The summary of Ray's message is basically this: Most people outside the church (and even many inside it) think they are essentially a "good person" and if God is good, then when they die God will give them a pass and overlook their shortcomings and "sins". What is sin? It is basically turning our back on our creator for our own selfish interests - turning our back on God in many various ways - while at the same time just like a loving parent God made us for a relationship with Him. So Ray points out all the ways in which we turn our back on God, which is what previous revivalists like Charles Finney also went to great lengths to do. Because to say we need God without really showing us why, and only saying we need God because God loves us, makes for a weak faith in God that does not stand up to all the various hard times throughout our life. And saying we need God to forgive us when we think we are already good people is basically insulting. We need to be shown WHY we need God, not just that God is full of Love. We need to know WHY God judges us when we die. Below is from a tract which can also be found on Ray's Living Waters web site.

"Do you consider yourself to be a good person? Most people do. However, most of us differ as to the definition of 'good'. The Bible says that God is 'good', and the ten commandments are His standard of goodness. So, we will look at God's law. With a tender conscience, ask yourself if you have obeyed the following:

1) You shall have no other gods before me. Have you always Loved God above all else?

2) You shall not make yourself an idol. Have you made a god in your mind that you are more comfortable with, a god to suit yourself?

3) You shall not take God's name in vain. Have you ever used God's holy name as a cuss word? Would you use the name of someone you love such as your mother or father as a cuss word?

4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5) Honor your father and mother.

6) You shall not murder. Jesus taught that God considers hatred to be the same as murder. Is there anyone that you hate or have hated?

7) You shall not commit adultery. Jesus taught that "Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart." Have you ever looked at someone and lusted after them or had sex before marriage?

8) You shall not steal. Have you ever stolen anything? (the value of the item is irrelevant)

9) You shall not lie. Have you ever lied even once? (including answering these questions)

10) You shall not covet. Have you ever jealously desired what belongs to others?

The Bible says that God will punish all murderers, rapists, thieves, liars, adulterers, etc. He will even judge our words and thoughts. On judgment day, will you be found to be guilty or innocent of breaking His commandments?

Perhaps you think that God is good, and will therefore overlook your sins. But it is His goodness that will make sure that murders, rapists, thieves, liars, etc, receive justice. He would be a corrupt judge if He turned a blind eye to injustice.

Have you kept the commandments? The Bible says that the law is perfect. It commands you to be perfect (Matthew 5:48). Are you perfect in thought, word, and deed? Will you make it to heaven?

You may say that you are still good, but God says you're not (see Psalm 14:2-3). So one of you is lying, and the scriptures tell us that it is impossible for God to tell a lie. Remember that all liars will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8). God's law demands justice, and the penalty for sinning against Him is death and hell. Listen carefully if you want to live.

God Himself made a way where His justice and His goodness could meet. We broke the law, but He became a man to pay the fine. Jesus suffered and died on the cross to satisfy the law. He then rose from the dead, defeating death forever. Therefore God can forgive us and grant us the gift of everlasting life!

But you may still think that you can (from now on) keep the Ten Commandments. But isn't it true that the best of us have lied, stolen, lusted, hated, failed to love God above all else, and failed to love our neighbor as ourselves? How can we then, live a "good" life if we have already sinned against God? At best we are reformed liars and thieves, but still law-breakers.

Think of it this way - would you sell one of your eyes for a million dollars? Would you sell both for $50 million? I'm sure you would not. Your eyes are priceless, yet they are merely the windows of your soul. What then must your life (soul) be worth? With these thoughts in mind, what would be a fair price to pay for everlasting life? It is utterly without price.

Yet, if we trust in our own goodness to enter heaven, we are saying to God, "I should enter heaven because I have done good - I have earned my way in." However, imagine if you wanted to give me a brand new (very expensive) car, but I said, "I can't take it! I feel embarrassed receiving such a gift... here's 10 cents for it." I'm sure you would be very insulted by such a pathetic offer of payment. Besides, if I pay for it, it is no longer a gift, and it's a purchase - it's mine by right. When we talk of entering heaven by being good, by trying to keep the ten commandments etc, we are tossing God 10 cents of "self-righteousness," which is a terrible insult to Him, in light of Jesus' sacrifice.

The only thing we can do is humble ourselves, repent of our sins, and receive the gift by trusting Jesus Christ alone. Almighty God demonstrated how much He loves you when Jesus suffered for you on the cross. If you want to trust in your own goodness, then you are saying His agonizing death on the cross was in vain. The Bible says, "For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." You cannot earn a gift.

When Jesus said to "believe" on Him, He was saying we should have faith in Him, in the same way you would trust a parachute to save you when you jump from a plane. You don't merely believe in the parachute - you put it on. Please don't "jump" without Jesus. If you die in your sins there is no second chance. God will give you justice, and you will end up in hell forever. Any troubles you have at present are dwarfed by the trouble you are in with your creator. His wrath abides upon you (John 3:36).

God doesn't want you to go to hell. Neither do you want to go there, so confess your sins to God right now, put your trust in Jesus to save you, and you will pass from death to life. Then read the Bible daily and obey what you read. Your obedience to God is the proof of your love. Have faith in God, He will never fail you.

If you are ready to admit your sins and want God's forgiveness and eternal life, then pray something like this:

'Dear God, today I turn away from all of my sins (name them). This day I put my trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. He is the only way for me to be saved. He is 'the way the truth and the life.' Please forgive me, change my heart, and grant me your gift of everlasting life. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.'"

"If you died within 24 hours, where would you be in eternity? Heaven or hell?" - Frank Arthur Jenner

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