By BOB WEINER Fall 2007
"Give me one hundred men who love
only God with all their heart and
hate only sin with all their heart and
we will shake the gates of hell and
bring in the Kingdom of God
in one Generation."
--John Wesley
JESUS SAID, "YOU HAVE NOT CHOSEN ME, BUT I HAVE CHOSEN YOU and appointed you to go and bring forth fruit that remains" (John 15:16). Paul tells us that we have been "saved and called with a holy calling" and that God has prepared beforehand "good works" so that we may walk in them (2 Tim 1:9, Ephes. 2:10). God has more for us to do as Christians than to warm the church pew.
To Jeremiah God said, "Before you were born, while you were in your mother's womb, I called you to be a prophet to the nations"(Jer. 1:5). Jeremiah was a young man, perhaps 16, when God called him, and he thought he was too young to do the job. But God said, "Don't say, I am a youth, for everywhere I send you, you shall go and all that I command you, you shall speak"(v7).
Like Jeremiah, if you are a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ, God has also called you to the nations.
After Jesus arose from the dead, He called His followers to be prophets and ministers to the nations. He told His disciples and all those who would be His followers in the ages to come, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them, teaching them to observe everything I have taught you"(Matt. 28:18-20). And most of his disciples were young people.
You are Abraham's Seed
From the very beginning, God was interested in reaching the nations and bringing them into the blessing of His glorious kingdom. In Genesis 12:3, God made a covenant with Abraham and told him, "Through you and your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed." Who are Abraham's seed? Paul tells us, "If you are Christ's, you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise" (Gal 3:29). What promise? That though you and your children all the nations of the earth will be blessed!
It is not just enough to believe for others to be saved. We are to teach those people we win to win others. God wants you to have fruit that will change nations. The goal, then, is not to just win people, but to win whole nations and to believe that God is going to help you win your family, nation, and the world. God so loved the world--the whole world--that He gave His Son that the world (not just a few individuals) might be saved.
Since God has called us to take the nations, how will we be able to afford to do it? How will this be financed? Deut. 8:18 tells us, "God has given us power to make wealth, so that the covenant that God made with Abraham might be fulfilled." What covenant? That through Abraham's seed--that's you and me--"all the nations of the earth will be blessed!"
Inheriting the Blessings
So God has made a way for us to be able to afford to do His will, and that is through His covenant of prosperity and blessing that He gave to Abraham that comes down to us through Christ Jesus. Jesus "redeemed us from the curse" so that all "the blessings of Abraham might come down upon the Gentiles through faith in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:13-14).
What are those blessings? To Abraham God said, "In blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice. (Gen.22:16-18)
In Deuteronomy 28, we find a list of the blessings that come on those who obey God and the curses that come on those who disobey God. Look it up and you will see what curses Christ has redeemed you from and what blessings are yours. Among the blessings are abundant prosperity and God's blessing on everything you do, on your children, your land, crops and animals and deliverance from your enemies and you will have an open heavens (Deut. 28:1-13).
How to do the Works of God
How do you fulfill the Great Commission? First, you must embrace the cross. Die to self--what you want, what you think, what you feel and all self- effort and totally depend on the Holy Spirit within you to do the work. The life that you now live, you live by faith in the Son of God who loves you and lives within you (Gal. 2:20).
It is God that does the work through you. Paul explained, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the power may be of God and not of ourselves."(2 Cor. 4:7). It is not by your own effort, "not by might or power, but it is by God's Spirit" (Zach. 4:6).
Paul explained to the churches, "This is the victory that overcomes the world even your faith." And don't think that you are without faith because the Bible teaches that "God has given everyone a measure of faith" (Rom 12:3b). We are told and to "not look at what is seen, but what is unseen" "to walk by faith not by sight" (2 Cor. 4:18; 5:7).
Becoming a Friend of Sinners
What was Jesus major secret of being effective? He loved sinners. The religious leaders got upset when He was talking and eating with sinners. But Jesus said that he "had come not to call the righteous but the sinners to repentance." Jesus said, "I desire compassion and not sacrifice"(Matt. 9:10-13).
In Luke 15: 1-7, answering the charges that if He was really spiritual he would not be eating with sinners, Jesus said, "I leave the ninety-nine righteous and go after the one that is lost." There is "great joy" in heaven over those who repent, who were "lost," but now "have been found," than over all those who need no repentance.
Yet, most Christians spend 99% of their time with Christians and spend little time with sinners. God Himself became a man and left us an example of how we should care for the lost, then exhorted us to follow in His steps. Jesus stated His purpose, "The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost" (Luke 19:10). How can we say we are His followers if we don't make His mission our mission.
Zacheus, a Jewish tax collector and cheat was sitting in tree trying to see and hear Jesus as he passed by. Jesus saw him and called him down from the tree and chose his house as a place to rest. To be honored by such a guest was overwhelming for Zacheus. Jesus loved him so unconditionally that he was so touched he gave back four times as much as he had stolen and gave half of all that he had to the poor. This was true repentance and this is what can happen when we love sinners. In 2 Cor. 4, we are told to put on love and compassion. People will be won as your faith works through unconditional love.
Why we must Preach the Gospel
Philip was taken in the spirit to an Ethiopian man who was reading the scroll of Isaiah as he was departing in a carriage from Jerusalem. Philip asked the man if he understood what he was reading. The man said, "How can I without a teacher?'" Philip explained to him about the Christ.
Paul would later say, "How can they hear without a preacher and how will they know unless someone is sent?" So from the example of God working through the early church we know we must tell others about Jesus. God is not sending angels, but men and women and children to tell others about Him.
HERE ARE FOUR KEY THINGS you should do before you go out to witness:(Cols. 3:12, Acts 4, James1).
1. Put on a heart of love and compassion
2. Ask for open doors
3. Ask for boldness
4. Ask for wisdom
Why People don't tell other about Jesus
Why don't people tell others about Jesus? It is the most natural thing to talk about someone you love. While some people are shy or simply don't know how to share their faith, other Christians have gotten caught up in self-interest, the deceitfulness of riches, the desire for other things their heart is not filled with love for Jesus.
Jesus has a special message for those who have let other things crowd out their fellowship with the Lord and their love for their neighbor. In Revelation 2:1-5, Jesus said they had "left their first love." Jesus said to them, "Repent and do the deeds you did at first" or He would "take away their lamp stand." So, if this is you, it is important that repent, get back to the cross, renew your fellowship with Jesus, and let Him fill your heart with love and compassion for the lost.
We are told that everyone will appear before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account for their deeds. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine Jesus appearing on the Day of Judgment and you are standing there with those you love. Jesus opens up the Lamb's book of life and the names of people you went to school with, worked with, and members of your family are not written in the book. Can you imagine how sad you will be on that day.
Using the VIP List
It is important to realize that 95% of all people are saved through a friend or relative. One of the easiest way to get started is to download the VIP List (Very Important People) at this link. There are twelve blanks for you to list twelve names of your friends or relatives that you want to see saved. Pay for these people's salvation everyday. Picture them being saved through the eye of faith--"when you pray believe you have received."
Out of the list of twelve, pick 4 to 6 people who are the most open and spend one hour a week, every week, with the same people for 4 months doing things you normally d0-eat lunch, jog, go to the store, the health spa, etc. Do this consistently and one of these people will be born again every four to six months. There was one congregation in Switzerland who took this idea. They had 100 young people in their church. The first year their congregation had multiplied to 1300 people through using the VIP List and 4 years later the church had grown to 5000 members. Billy Graham said that the people who brought their friends and relatives to his crusade were the ones who got saved and stuck.
Then remember, teach all those who you win to Jesus everything God has shown you, and teach them to do the same to those they win to the Lord. This is the Great Commission in action. And remember that Jesus promised, "I will be with you always." It is Jesus Himself who will work within you to accomplish His kingdom purpose if you will obey the leadership of the Holy Spirit. If you will do this, you will fulfill everything God has called you to do, and you will help to bring His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.