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Whatever
Happened to The Gospel?
How
To Minister the Gospel to the Harvest. and…
The Fields
are Ripe unto Harvest and Tools that Produce
Salvation Fruit!!
In
a world and culture that insists upon bringing all
values and beliefs into unity by reducing them to
the lowest common denominator and reducing all
truth to the least threatening politically correct
terms, there must be voices who will arise and who
will not compromise truth to please the crowd, who
will not bow to the pressures to conform to the
“norms” of our society as well as the diluted
messages which have crept into the church of what
we now commonly refer to as Christianity.
At the risk of rejection and
criticism, the church of Jesus Christ must at all
costs remain true in its beliefs to the Biblical
message of the Gospel without compromise and
dilution to suit our comfort levels and the
popular opinion of our culture. This message
will take you into the “no spin zone,” so get
ready for what the Word of God says.
This
brings me to the following topic. Whatever
happened to the Biblical message of the Gospel
when it comes to evangelizing the unsaved? It
is my personal opinion and belief, although, I
believe it can be suitably affirmed by many
scriptural examples, that, if the church is to
produce believers in Christ Jesus who are born
again from above by the Spirit of God, then the
Gospel message must be attached
to what we are commonly referring to as “evangelism.”
The Gospel message by definition is the “Good
News of Salvation through Jesus Christ.” If
we are bringing any other message without the key
ingredient Who is Christ Jesus, Who
is The Way, The Truth and The Life, then
I would question whether we are truly evangelizing
the lost with the Biblical Gospel.
In
our culture today, saying that “God
Loves You” has taken on a
completely new meaning. We are a society of
blended cultures, nations, ethnic groups and
religions. If the church wants to be crystal
clear about their message, “the Gospel
message,” then the Name of Jesus
will have to come into the conversation.
Who is God in the USA today? For
the Hindu’s it is many gods, Vishnu, Avitar and
too many others to mention. For the
Buddhists, it is Buddha. For the Muslims it
is Allah and the Prophet Muhammad. When we go
out to evangelize today, (if many Christians even
do so), simply saying “God”
loves you, like so many of us have done in the
past takes on new meaning. If we are bringing
the Gospel message to the unsaved and un-churched,
we may think about getting a little bit more
specific. Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior and
there is salvation in no other name under heaven
by which man may be saved. Yet, many
Christians today have almost become ashamed to
speak the name of Jesus outside the safety of the
four walls of the church or prayer closet.
Acts 1:8 tells us that you shall receive
power after that the Holy Spirit has come upon you
and you shall be witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea and
basically to the uttermost parts of the earth. It
is our personal belief that until there is a fresh
hunger in the church of Jesus Christ for a fresh
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, there will be very
little effective evangelism that brings about true
conversion of the heart to Jesus Christ. What
am I saying here? For born again Christians
to be thrust into the harvest, it takes a fresh
release of the Power of the Holy Spirit in their
lives. What does the verse say? It says,
“YOU shall receive POWER when the Holy Spirit
comes upon you and YOU shall become
“WITNESSES.”
In
the absence of the power of the Holy Spirit, we
resort to less effective activities that do not
have the Gospel message attached to it and for the
most part, most Christians do not evangelize
anyone.
Below
are some definitions from several dictionaries
that detail what evangelism really is and what it
should look like.
Evangelist - from Easton’s Bible
Dictionary
a
"publisher of glad tidings;" a
missionary preacher of the gospel (Eph. 4:11).
This title is applied to Philip (Acts 21:8), who
appears to have gone from city to city preaching
the Word (8:4, 40).
Evangelize:
from www.dictionary.com
1. to preach the gospel to.
2. to convert to Christianity, to preach the
gospel, act as an evangelist
Evangelize:
from Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary
1 : to preach the gospel to
2 : to convert to
Christianity intransitive verb : to
preach the gospel
Evangelism:
from Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary
1
: the winning or revival of
personal commitments to Christ
2 : militant or crusading
zeal
It
seems apparent
that evangelism is directly tied to the “message”
of the Gospel, or Good News and
personal commitments to Jesus
Christ. Scripture tells us that, “the
Gospel of Jesus Christ is the “power” of God
unto salvation. The very message
itself contains power! The Gospel message is
anointed by the Holy Spirit. When we include
the Gospel message in our evangelism in simple
effective way, the POWER of God is present to lead
people quickly and effectively to faith in Christ
Jesus. It’s not us and our great effectiveness
as evangelists. It really is the message
itself that the Holy Spirit anoints with His
power. We are just mouthpieces…vessels.
So What is The Gospel? Let’s
take a look. Below is a definition from the
Holman’s Bible Dictionary for Gospel.
GOSPEL definition – from the Homan’s Bible
dictionary
GOSPEL
is the English word used to
translate the Greek word for "good
news." Christians use the word to designate
the message and story of God's saving activity
through the life, ministry, death, and
resurrection of God's unique Son Jesus.
GOSPEL Continuation from the
Holman’ Bible Dictionary
Usage in
the New Testament In the New Testament
"gospel" has two shades of meaning: it
is both the actual message on the lips of Jesus
about the reign of God (Mark
1:14), and it is the story told about
Jesus after His death and resurrection (Gal
1:11-12). In each case
"gospel" refers to the work which God
alone initiates and completes. Inasmuch as God has
chosen to bring about the world's reconciliation
in this one particular way, there is only one
gospel (Heb 1:1-2).
Furthermore, since God is the One working through
the saving activity of Jesus, God is also the
Author of the gospel (1
Thess 2:13). The gospel is God's
message to humankind (Rom
15:16). Only God calls and commissions
the messengers of this good news, and, in
addition, only God gives the messengers the story
they are to make known (Rom
10:14-15; 1 John 1:5).
Therefore, the
proclamation of the good news is the continuation
of the work which God began in Jesus Christ. God's
messengers are not merely telling about the
history of salvation when they proclaim the good
news; rather, they are an integral part of the
work which continues through their efforts. The
living Lord, Jesus Christ Himself, confronts
listeners through the words of the messengers. To
alter the message by adding extra requirements or
by omitting crucial details is to pervert the
gospel into a false message which ceases to have
saving power (2
Cor 11:3-4; Gal 1:6-7).
The Message of the
Gospel The most basic summary of Jesus' preaching
appears in Mark
1:15. "The time is
fulfilled," He said. "The kingdom of God
is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."
The need for good news
assumes a bad situation. The bad situation in
which humans find themselves and the reason they
need good news is that sin has entered each of
their lives (John
8:7; Rom 3:23). Sin is a power that
controls them and shapes their destinies (Rom
3:9; 6:22).
Because
humans cannot overcome the power of sin by
themselves, God has intervened on their behalf
through Jesus. Jesus has come to seek out
all persons so they may respond to God's grace (Luke
15:1-10; 19:10). God's grace, which
Jesus bears within Himself (John
1:14), overcomes sin's power and offers
forgiveness for individual sins (Mark
2:5; Rom 6:14). See Grace.
While God offers grace
freely to everyone, this grace is not effective in
overcoming the power of sin in a person's life
until that person accepts it (Matt
19:20-22; John 1:12). Because Jesus
bears God's grace in Himself, grace is accepted
only by receiving him (John
14:9-12). The marks of
having accepted Jesus are repentance
(Luke 13:3)
and a changed life (Matt
3:8; 1 John 1:5-7).
The fact that
forgiveness, freedom from sin, and a new life are
possible is good news. Because all this is
possible only through Jesus Christ, His
message and His story are called the
"gospel."
**(bold and underline emphasis mine)
Bibliography: (from
Holman Bible Dictionary. Copyright © 1991 by
Holman Bible Publishers. All rights reserved.)
The following is from Galatians 1
Galatians
1:6-10
Only
One Gospel
6 I
marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him
who called you in the grace of Christ, to a
different gospel, 7 which
is not another; but there are some who trouble you
and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But
even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any
other gospel to you than what we have preached to
you, let him be accursed. 9 As
we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone
preaches any other gospel to you than what you
have received, let him be accursed.
10 For
do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to
please men? For if I still pleased men, I would
not be a bondservant of Christ.
NKJV
John 9:39-41 (Amplified Bible)
39 Then
Jesus said, I came into this world for judgment
[as a Separator, in order that there may be [a]
separation between those who believe on Me and
those who reject Me], to make the sightless see
and to make those who see become blind.
The Message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a
message of confrontation. Obviously, the Gospel
Message is the message of God the Father’s love
for the world and mankind, so
much so that He sent His only begotten Son into
the earth, so that none would perish, but have
everlasting life. (John 3:16) God
the Father loves His people. God
the Father loves the church. God
the Father loves the World, but
the confrontation that occurs is the confrontation
of a spiritual message upon a carnal mind and
heart. This confrontation is a
confrontation of the Kingdom of Light through
Jesus Christ, His Truth and His Message
confronting the dominion of darkness that is upon
every person until the message of Jesus is
preached and accepted through faith, grace and the
“born-again” experience. This is
the Separation that Jesus came to bring into the
earth and this is the Confrontation that offends
the carnal heart that is separated from
the love of God through Jesus.
Jesus did not come to bring peace, but a sword. He
came to confront a fallen world of it’s
condition apart from Him and provide a means of
escape from this condition through Him. Because
this message confronts darkness by virtue of
it’s Light, a confrontation occurs. The
Gospel message by nature is a message of
confrontation upon the sinful condition, but the
Gospel, by virtue of the fact that it is a message
of love and hope and reconciliation to our
heavenly Father is really, really GOOD NEWS!!! The
message itself, the “Gospel” IS the POWER of
God unto salvation.
Without
the accompanying message of the Good News or
Gospel, our message is VOID of the power of God to
change lives.
Okay. I have taken great measures to
bring clarity and explanation of the need for the
Truth of the Gospel and the accompanying Message
of the Gospel in evangelism efforts in order to be
effective in the conversion of lives.
So, how do we empower Christians, ignite
Christians with a love for the harvest and then
what do we practically do to send them into the
harvest with a tool that is effective in winning
the lost?
Some believers are already excited about
the harvest and are ready to GO! Some think
that it is a really good idea, but they have no
heart to go themselves. Some love to watch
others and rejoice in what is being accomplished,
but do not want to go. Some simply don’t
care and just don’t want to do it. Some
claim that it is not their gift mix and refuse to
go. Some think it is an office gift to
evangelize, so they excuse themselves from the
task at hand. Some are simply afraid and some
just don’t know what to do, how to get started
and what to say to someone who does not know
Jesus.
In all of this, it is easy to understand why
methods have come about that are very easy and
non-threatening. But in addition to being
easy and non-threatening, they also lack one key
ingredient…the message of The Gospel of Jesus
Christ. This article is not an attack on
other forms of so called, evangelism. It is a
“surgical laser beam” that is meant to pierce
to the core of our belief systems and challenge
the church to return to the solid foundation of
Jesus Christ and to bring us back to knowing why
we are doing what we are doing and understanding
what we are really trying to accomplish as the
Church of Jesus Christ in the earth.
Jesus came to SEEK and to
SAVE that which is LOST!!! This
is the central message of the Gospel. He came
to rescue LIVES out of darkness, a hopeless
eternity separated from Him and to give mankind
REAL LIFE and RECONCILIATION to the Father through
Jesus…a separation that occurred because of the
fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden when Adam
and Even succumbed to the temptation of the
serpent, the devil and gave this world over to the
prince of darkness. Jesus has come to
purchase men and women back with His own blood!! He
has paid the price and now the Way is open to all
mankind.
Jesus Christ is our
second Adam, sinless and perfect in every way and
has made a new and living way into relationship
with the Heavenly Father and creator of all
things. The HEAVENS were opened to us 2000
years ago and have never closed again!!!! He
opened the heavens with His sacrifice and they
have never closed!!
This is OUR
message!!! Salvation is free to
us now because of His sacrifice!! This is why
we evangelize. Men, women and children do not
have to go to a devil’s hell!!! Hell was
created for satan and the demons. No human
was designed or created to spend eternity in hell. God
the Father has made provision through His Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ and the church MUST get back to
these truths.
No believer should
ever want to see any loved one, relative, friend,
neighbor or even their worst enemies spend a lost
eternity separated from God the Father.
I fear that
the Body of Christ has forgotten it’s original
purpose and mandate on the earth. There
are many facets of our relationship with God the
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ who is our
Bridegroom, but we cannot forget the lost! This
is the VERY reason that Christ came into the
earth, to SAVE that which was LOST!!!
Every believer
was once separated from God and someone
either prayed for that one, or preached the
message to that one, or heard a Christian telecast
or picked up a Bible and read the message of the
Gospel or a friend or loved one spoke to you at
the risk of being rejected and you received Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior and became born again. Why
has the church, for the most part, abandoned the
Gospel message that leads to salvation?
I fear that in
the pursuit of many other areas, the Body of
Christ has departed from the Great Commission,
largely in order to pursue their own spiritual
enrichment and relationship with Jesus. We
recently heard a man of God state the following: “If
the church does not begin to make a turn back to
the central message of salvation through Christ
Jesus and winning the Lost, she will sink farther
and farther into the swamplands of bless-me clubs.
We must not lose that original mandate given by
Jesus Christ to the Church in Matthew 28.
Yes…we
have a Bridegroom who is coming back for us…and
yes, there is going to be a wonderful Wedding
Supper with the Lamb of God, and Yes, there will
be a New Jerusalem and New Heaven and New Earth,
but what have we done with HIS GOSPEL? What
have we done with the TALENTS? It is
a bit scary to know that the church has lost the
priority of winning souls to Jesus Christ and
souls are daily entering into the grip of hell and
everlasting separation from Jesus!!! Woe to
us all if we do not preach the gospel to the lost. It
is a very scary thing. My purpose is not to
scare the church, but to challenge the Bride to
WAKE UP! We must be awake and alert and about
the Father’s business NOW!!! This message
is not to the few…but to the many!
What is the
church going to do about it? When
will the church begin to wake up and really
“see?” Now to those who are winning souls
like crazy and bringing in massive harvest and
preaching a solid Gospel Message…Hallelujah, but
as the word of God states so very
clearly…”Truly the Harvest is Great, but the
Laborers are Few. Pray the Lord of the
Harvest that He would send laborers into His
harvest field.”
The laborers who are
out there currently are making a difference and
the Lord would commend you. Massive
evangelistic efforts take place every day in
foreign nations. Hundred of thousands and
even millions come to open air crusades and a
great harvest come in. But what about right
here in the USA and what about that one person you
are called to talk to?
Who do you
walk past every single day that needs the Lord? Who
is that person who cusses in your workplace or is
in adultery or divorce or homosexuality and
doesn’t even know there is hope for them? Thousands
are going into a lost eternity because believers
who claim to love God so very much will not open
their mouths or step outside of their comfort zone
to share God’s love and the message of the
Gospel. We are all guilty, but there is hope
and there is a way to reach the lost.
Every believer can take steps to begin to become a
harvester.
·
Hunger is the key – a fresh hunger for
God and the power of the Holy Spirit, Acts 1:8. You
shall receive power and you shall be my witnesses.
·
Having our eyes opened again to the lost
and becoming reacquainted with the Biblical Gospel
message.
·
Getting Filled with the Precious Holy
Spirit and the Fire of God.
·
Yielding yourself to the Holy Spirit and
the Will of the Father.
·
Getting set free from the fear of man which
brings a snare.
·
Receiving God’s compassion for the lost
– harassed and helpless like sheep with no
shepherd.
·
Asking God to give you a heart for the
things that He has a heart for. He is not
willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to the saving knowledge of the truth.
·
Asking the Lord for holy boldness –
moving in the opposite spirit of the fear of man.
·
Allowing yourself to be trained and being
willing to set aside time to minister to someone
who does not know the Lord.
·
Scheduling times to reread the Gospels and
Book of Acts to see the model in Scripture.
·
Looking for opportunities everywhere you
go. God sets up many divine appointments if
we are paying attention.
·
Realizing you are God’ messenger with
God’s message and a divine ambassador of Christ
Jesus. Every believer is drafted into this
army.
·
Realizing you have the Answer!! His
name is Jesus.
To sum these things all up..have
a willing heart and realize you are an ambassador
of Jesus Christ and simply say, “Here
I am Lord, will you use me?” and Yes,
Lord, I will go.”
Below are scriptural references to our
role as messengers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
and what the Lord says in His Word about winning
the lost. Soul Winning is not a
religious “DO.” It is an invitation to
every believer to become ministers of the New
Covenant and an invitation to become a vessel by
which the miracle transformation grace of God may
flow through you to someone who is yet separated
from God. It is an invitation to watch lives
change before your very eyes and rescue another
life from eternal separation from God. It is
an invitation to partner with God in Heaven here
on Earth to enforce His Kingdom in the lives of
everyday people. As God’s messenger, you
can pull lives out of hopelessness and
condemnation, into the greatest adventure of all
time.
Scripture
References
Acts 1:8 (Amplified Bible)
8 But you
shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and
might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and
you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all
Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very
bounds) of the earth.
***Every believer empowered by the
precious Holy Spirit to be His witnesses.
Matthew
9:35-37 (Amplified Bible)
35 And
Jesus went about all the cities and villages,
teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the
good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom and curing
all kinds of disease and every weakness and
infirmity.
36 When He saw the throngs, He was moved
with pity and sympathy for them, because they were
bewildered (harassed and distressed and dejected
and helpless), like sheep without a shepherd.(A)
37 Then
He said to His disciples, The harvest is indeed
plentiful, but the laborers are few.
***Preach the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, heal the sick and receive God’s great
love and compassion for every unsaved person.
Mark 16:15-18 (Amplified
Bible)
15 And He
said to them, Go into all the world and preach and
publish openly the good news (the Gospel) to every
creature [of the whole [a]human
race].
16 He who
believes [who adheres to and trusts in and relies
on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] and is
baptized will be saved [[b]from
the penalty of eternal death]; but he who does not
believe [who does not adhere to and trust in and
rely on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth]
will be condemned.
17 And
these attesting signs will accompany those who
believe: in My name they will drive out demons;
they will speak in new languages
18 They
will pick up serpents; and [even] if they drink
anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will
lay their hands on the sick, and they will get
well.
***This
passage and the passage below is the GREAT
COMMISSION to EVERY believer,… not just a few
and not only for office gift evangelists. The
Great Commission is not the Great Suggestion…it
is the Great Commission that every believer has
been issued and can move in.
Matthew 28:18-20 (Amplified Bible)
18 Jesus
approached and, [a]breaking
the silence, said to them, All authority (all
power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been
given to Me.
19 Go
then and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them [b]into
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit,
20
Teaching them to observe everything that I have
commanded you, and behold, I am with you [c]all
the days ([d]perpetually,
uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very]
close and consummation of the age. [e]Amen
(so let it be).
Matthew 10:6-8;16-17 (Amplified Bible)
6 But go
rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7
And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of
heaven is at hand!
8
Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers,
drive out demons. Freely (without pay) you have
received, freely (without charge) give.
16
Behold, I am sending you out like sheep in the
midst of wolves; be [c]wary
and wise as serpents, and be innocent (harmless,
guileless, and [d]without
falsity) as doves.(A)
17
Be on guard against men [whose [e]way
or nature is to act in opposition to God]; for
they will deliver you up to councils and flog you
in their synagogues,
**Go
preaching the Good News, speak to them about the
love of Christ, heal the sick, drive out demons. The
Gospel was free to you, freely give it away to
others.
Isaiah 61:1-7 (Amplified
Bible)
1 THE SPIRIT of
the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has
anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of
good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up and heal the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
[physical and spiritual] captives and the opening
of the prison and of the eyes to those who are
bound,(A)
2
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord [the
year of His favor] [a]and
the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all
who mourn,(B)
3
To grant [consolation and joy] to those who mourn
in Zion--to give them an ornament (a garland or
diadem) of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy
instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of
praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing
spirit--that they may be called oaks of
righteousness [lofty, strong, and magnificent,
distinguished for uprightness, justice, and right
standing with God], the planting of the Lord, that
He may be glorified.
4
And they shall rebuild the ancient ruins; they
shall raise up the former desolations and renew
the ruined cities, the devastations of many
generations.
5
Aliens shall stand [ready] and feed your flocks,
and foreigners shall be your plowmen and your
vinedressers.
6
But you shall be called the priests of the Lord;
people will speak of you as the ministers of our
God. You shall eat the wealth of the nations, and
the glory [once that of your captors] shall be
yours.(C)
7
Instead of your [former] shame you shall have a
twofold recompense; instead of dishonor and
reproach [your people] shall rejoice in their
portion. Therefore in their land they shall
possess double [what they had forfeited];
everlasting joy shall be theirs.
***YOU are anointed to preach the Gospel. You
have an anointing that is from the Holy Spirit who
is within you. Salvation brings restoration
and only in Christ Jesus.
Psalm 2:7-8
7 I will declare the decree of the Lord: He
said to Me, You are My Son; this day [I declare] I
have begotten You.(B)
8 Ask of
Me, and I will give You the nations as Your
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth
as Your possession.
**Ask of the Lord and He will give you a harvest
field…but nothing will happen until you are
willing to GO and become a yielded vessel in His
hand.
Daniel 12:1-3 (New King James Version)
Prophecy
of the End Time
1 “At that
time Michael shall stand up,
The great
prince who stands watch over the sons of
your people;
And there
shall be a time of trouble,
Such as never
was since there was a nation,
Even
to that time.
And at that
time your people shall be delivered,
Every one who
is found written in the book.
2 And many of
those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall
awake,
Some to
everlasting life,
Some to shame and
everlasting contempt.
3 Those who
are wise shall shine
Like the
brightness of the firmament,
And
those who turn many to righteousness
Like the stars
forever and ever.
***Those
who turn sinners to righteousness will SHINE like
the stars in the heavens forever and ever. That
is pretty cool!!! Don’t you want to be a
shining star forever and ever in God’s Kingdom? That’s
just the icing on the cake…a fringe benefit of
being obedient to win souls for eternity.
Proverbs 11:30 (Amplified Bible)
30 The
fruit of the [uncompromisingly] righteous is a
tree of life, and he who is wise captures human
lives [for God, as a fisher of men--he gathers and
receives them for eternity].(A)
***A Wise
man or woman will capture souls for eternity. A
wise man or woman will become a gatherer and
fisher of men. Become wise and catch lives
for God!!
Proverbs 10:5 (Amplified
Bible)
5 He who
gathers in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps
in harvest is a son who causes shame.
***It is
Harvest time. Let’s not sleep in the midst
of Harvest time. Become Wise and gather in
the harvest.
James 5:19-20 (Amplified
Bible)
19 [My]
brethren, if anyone among you strays from the
Truth and falls into error and another [person]
brings him back [to God],
20 Let
the [latter] one be sure that whoever turns a
sinner from his evil course will save [that one's]
soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins
[[a]procure
the pardon of the many sins committed by the
convert].
***A
believer that turns a sinner from his evil pathway
will save another from certain death and
separation and cover a multitude of sins. The
blood washes everything away. Let’s turn
lives to the Lord!!!
1 Corinthians
12:3 (Amplified Bible)
3 Therefore
I want you to understand that no one speaking
under the power and influence of the [Holy] Spirit
of God can [ever] say, Jesus be cursed! And no one
can [really] say, Jesus is [my] Lord, except by
and under the power and influence of the Holy
Spirit.
***Confession
unto salvation is under the power and influence of
the Holy Spirit. When we are faithful to GO,
the Holy Spirit is released into lives to bring
them into the saving grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ. The Holy Spirit will be with you and
will assist you in saving the lost and winning
people to Jesus Christ. Remember, the message
itself IS the power of God unto salvation.
Overcoming
Fear and Stepping Into Boldness
The best method of
overcoming fear of any kind is to walk in a spirit
of boldness and simply to walk in the opposite
spirit. The Fear of man brings a snare. When
we break out of fear, we are set free from the
snare that kept us bound. Sometimes you just
“do it” and fear has to go as we progressively
become bolder and bolder. The more you
“choose” to step into soul winning, the bolder
you will get. Each time you go makes you
freer and freer of the fear of man. The ministry
of Jesus and in the ministries of all His
disciples worked in this same manner.
The early church cried
out for a spirit of boldness and in receiving it
they won several thousand to the Lord.
“The
bolder I am to step out in faith, the more God
shows up. The weaker I step out, the weaker God
shows up.”
-Smith Wigglesworth
Remember that
people will always follow confidence, purpose, and
vision! It is like learning how to walk. With
every step, confidence grows. Every time we
confront our fear by walking in the opposite
spirit, our boldness increases until sharing the
message of the Gospel becomes second nature.
Having a
Really Good Tool: We use the Gospel
Soul Winning Script published by Revival
Ministries International and available at www.revival.com Soon
we will have this information on our website at www.passionandfire.com
as well.
At Passion
and Fire, we have put together Soul Winning
Packets. We implemented this
model after participating in soul winning with
Revival Ministries, International at the Great
Awakening Tour in Louisville, KY. Each one
contains several items. They contain a
Harvester Card, a Soul Goal Card, a follow-up dvd,
church business card, church flyer with service
information, a prayer list with clip board and our
Gospel Soul Winning Script.
The Harvester
Card:
Each person going out should fill out the
Harvester Card in their packet and turn into the
Evangelism Team Leader for the Day. The
harvester card has a place for your name and
address.
The Soul Goal
Card:
The soul-goal card has a place for your
name and a place for the number of lives you would
like to lead to Jesus for the day. There is a
place for the soul goal, actual salvations,
rededications, total number of people that you
spoke with and those who did not receive Jesus by
praying the prayer of faith. Have each person
set a “soul goal” for the day. Remind
them to keep track of the total number of people
that they have spoken to, new salvations, and
rededications.
The Gospel
Soul Winning Script:
The Soul Winning
Script is a very easy tool to follow either by
reading it to the person that you are ministering
to, committing to memory and speaking to the
person you are ministering too and sometimes
allowing the person to read it themselves. Our
experience is that nearly every person will allow
you to read it to them. Most of the time a
soul winner gets so familiar with the script that
they speak most of it verbatim by memory. We
always advise that when the harvester gets to the
actual prayer of salvation that the harvester
prays the prayer word for word with the person who
is repeating the prayer after them. Sometimes
important elements of the prayer are left out if
only prayed by memory.
***Follow
the Script, Follow the Script, and Follow the
Script!
Although there
are many effective ways to evangelize your city,
this script has been proven through hundreds of
thousands of salvations and the hand of God
anoints it to work everywhere and in many
different environments and locations. We
always advise harvesters to stay with the script
so that they do not become engaged in theological
debates. We are there to love them into the
Kingdom and bring the message of salvation to them
through the Gospel and departing from the script
opens the door to debate. The script leads
the person right to the prayer of faith, while
praying for them and asking that God will do a
quick work in their lives in revealing Jesus to
them.
The #1 frustration
people have with winning someone to Christ is that
they have not been obedient to stay with the
script. We have used the script many, many
times, and when it is followed properly, there are
many salvations and decisions for Jesus.
(We recommend
that harvesters underline the salvation prayer on
their script).
When a Person
Says, Yes, they are Going to Heaven:
If a person says, “yes
they are going to heaven.” Say “Great! Why
would you say you are going to heaven?” If
their answer is anything else besides, “Jesus is
my Lord and Savior,” then go ahead and proceed
with the script and lead them in a prayer of
salvation. If they are already believers, ask
them, “On a scale from 1 to 10, with
10 being the highest, where would you say your
relationship with Jesus is today?” If
anything less than 10, proceed with the script and
pray the prayer as a rededication prayer. Sometimes
people are backslidden or out of fellowship and
once gave their hearts to the Lord, but need to
rededicate themselves to Jesus.
Always be sure to
finish up the prayer by telling the person, “As
a minister of the Gospel of the Lord Lord Jesus
Christ, I tell you that your sins are forgiven you
Right NOW!!
Follow-Up DVD w/business card:
Our teams carry a
packet with them that includes a follow-up dvd
produced by Revival Ministries, International
which details about 14 different foundations of
the Christian Faith. Some of those would
include: salvation, baptism in water, baptism
in the Holy Spirit, Communion, Finding a Church
home, giving through tithes and offerings, a daily
devotional life, reading your Bible, attending a
good church. We train our people to then give
the individual the follow-up DVD with the church
business card in it and briefly describe what it
is. A DVD should be given to every person who
prays the Prayer of Salvation and then we invite
them to come to our church. Some of these
people may never come to our church, but we have
given them the message of the Gospel, prayed the
prayer of faith with them and given them follow-up
tools that are very good in the event that we
never see them again. Sometimes the Holy
Spirit takes it from there and sometimes we have
the opportunity to continue to minister to this
person.
Church
Follow-Up Flyer:
Give each person who
prays the prayer of faith and salvation a church
follow-up flyer which has information about your
church on it. Items that each person should
receive when you are finished praying with them is
a DVD with the church business card enclosed, soul
winning script in the DVD packet so that they can
lead others to the Lord, and a church information
sheet/flyer or brochure, with map, directions, and
contact information.
Prayer List
Follow-Up Sheet:
When you have finished
praying with the new believer, ask them if you can
add them to the prayer list that is part of the
harvester packet. (This is our follow-up
information so that we can contact them again
either by phone, mail or another visit). Be
sure to get their name, complete address and phone
number. Most people will be glad to give you
this information and it makes it easy to set up a
harvest data-base of those whom you have touched
and lead to the Lord. You can pray over these
lives and contact them again on another occasion.
Follow-Up
Information
Winning people to
Jesus is one part of our goal in winning your city
to Christ. Another part of our goal is to disciple
them into a mature and healthy relationship with
Him. In order to do that there must be a way to
contact them again. This is why it is
important to get follow-up info on the Prayer List
for future contact and prayer.
8 Guidelines
for Effective Evangelism
SMILE
Lead the conversation
Be well groomed and
approachable
Follow the Script
Lose the
“Christianese”
Pray for everyone
Follow up sheets and
dvd’s
Be aggressive and
bold, yet cheerful and friendly
Role Play (IF
Time Permits)
When we train
harvesters to go out, we like to give them the
opportunity to practice with someone before going
out. This gives the person the opportunity to
become acquainted with the tool and how to
minister to someone outside. Pair up with a
partner and practice using the script. Remember to
stick with the script. Practicing helps
harvesters get comfortable with the tools.
Time Frames
For Ministry:
Our teams meet on Saturdays at 10:00 am
for brief training and instruction, question and
answer and practice. By 10:45 am, the teams
head for their destination…usually an apartment
complex, nursing home or some other agreed upon
location. Always Set a beginning time to go
out and a finishing time. Saturday ministry
ending time for our teams is usually 1:00 pm
unless teams mutually agree to stay out longer. Average
ministry time should be 2 hours unless the team
agrees to stay out longer. Having a starting
and ending time helps people plan their day if
other things are on their schedule and still be
effective with the time they have committed to
soul winning.
Additional
Notes:
You may find it easier
if you take along a smaller clip board with you,
(half-sheet size which is 6X9 inches) so that you
can write down the names and addresses and phone
numbers of people that you talked to for the
Prayer List which should be enclosed with your
Soul Winning packet.
Finally, Do
not get into theological discussions with
people and do not go head to head with or argue
with anyone. Stay with the script. Occasionally
you come across those of other faiths and there
may be opportunity to get into a theological
debate. Avoid this at all costs and
stay with the script. Be friendly, smile, but
return to the Gospel Soul Winning Script. Refrain
from allowing the person to engage you in this
way. You may listen, but then go immediately
back to the script. Do not argue with anyone
if they say that they are not interested. Bless
the person and move on to the next person. We
are there to bring the love of Jesus Christ to
people and like scripture says, bless them and
move on. The Longer you get into a
discussion, the more the enemy distracts you from
those who are waiting and eager to be saved and
receive the message of salvation through Christ
Jesus. In every case, remember that seeds are
being planted even if they don’t pray the prayer
of faith with you. Bless them and move on to
the next person.
And…in this way, we
have witnessed hundreds of people receive Jesus
Christ in the last year. This is so much
easier than anyone realizes. The Gospel
message accompanies the outreach and lives are
transformed right in front of you, right on the
spot.
The harvest is ripe
right now. They just need someone to come. We
have experienced the harvest being so ripe, it is
like picking berries or ripe apples. Most of
the time, the harvest just falls off the tree. We
are in an hour that people are ready to hear the
message of the Gospel like never before. There
is so much hopelessness in the world, that people
are looking for hope and we have it. We just
have to take it to them.
Amen!!! This is
so easy, children are doing it and seeing many
receive Jesus. People in nursing homes are
coming to the Lord in droves. People in their
homes, the nations are ready to hear. People
want what you’ve got. They want to be
saved. You just have to open your mouth and
be willing to Go!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Note:
some elements of the soul winning training were
provided by Tom Scarrella Ministries and Revival
Ministries, International. The writing of
this article by Donna Kelly of Passion and Fire
Worship Center, included scriptural reference from
the New King James Bible and the Amplified Bible. More
information and soul winning tools are available
at www.revival.com
and www.passionandfire.com
)
The Great Awakening Tour with Revival
Ministries, International will take place
in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, September 2-5, with
soul winning opportunities and training everyday,
September 1-6, 2008 at the Sharonville Convention
Center. More information is available at www.greatawakening.com
or www.revival.com
or www.passionandfire.org
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