THE SALVATION OF THE SAINTS
The Key to Evangelism
In Joel 2 the prophet speaks about an
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Immediately
before and after this the Bible speaks about a
harvest. "Whosoever shall call upon the name of
the Lord shall be saved." But preceding all this
in verse 17 Joel says, "Let the priests, who
minister to the Lord, weep between the porch and
the altar; let them say, 'Spare YOUR people, O
Lord'". In preparing for this great harvest of
sinners into the Kingdom of God there is a great
weeping and crying out: "Spare YOUR people, O
Lord!" Is this perhaps an error in the
translation? Does God stutter? Is the prophet
confused? No, it is that "My ways are not YOUR
ways." Should we not cry out to God for the
pagan, the sinner, and the one ignorant of the
ways of God? Of course, but God has a special
plan for the salvation of the lost.
There are a number of ways the Gospel can be
proclaimed. Christian television is certainly
one of the most powerful tools for reaching
people with the Gospel in these days. In many
parts of the world radio is the most effective
means of communicating the message of Jesus.
Other methods may include tracts, evangelistic
campaigns, tent meetings, films and videos, and
children's evangelism. In Mexico, for instance,
I have seen drama and skits bring the message of
God's love to the people in a very powerful way.
All of these ways are good and there are many
more.
Let's look at a few methods of Biblical
evangelism that perhaps are not so popular or
obvious:
I) WORSHIP. "He has put a new song in my
mouth -- Praise to OUR God; many will see it and
fear, and WILL TRUST IN THE LORD." (Ps 40:3)
Corporate worship plays an important part in
bringing the lost to a knowledge of salvation.
Not their being impressed with our musical
excellence but rather it is a powerful spiritual
force that somehow allows salvation to take
place. I know of a worship group that plays
anointed songs of praise outdoors. This is
genuine warfare. The fruit that has come from
this is infinitely greater than what is produced
by picket lines or name calling in semi-violent
demonstations. Psalm 40:3 states that salvation
will result from the people of God entering into
true worship. Dare to believe this great but
neglected promise!
II) REPENTANCE. "Restore unto me the joy of
YOUR salvation ... and SINNERS SHALL BE
CONVERTED UNTO YOU" (Ps 51:12-13) Coming into a
right relationship with God ourselves also in
some way allows salvation to come to the sinner!
We generally tell the lost to repent; "clean up
their act", etc. and maybe God will accept them.
It is true, a person must repent in order to be
saved but the power that releases the blessing
of salvation to the lost is REPENTANCE in the
life of the people of God. How ironic! How
backwards! How great is the wisdom of God!! Do
not skip over this well known verse from II
Chronicles 7:14 " If MY PEOPLE who are called by
My name will humble themselves, and pray and
seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive
THEIR sin and HEAL THEIR LAND." The forgiveness
of God's people will produce a healing in their
land. How America needs a healing today! It will
happen only if the SAINTS "turn from their
wicked ways". We seem to be backwards today. We
want the world to pray in the public schools
while the Christians do not even pray in their
churches! What kind of foolishness is this? The
sinners are doing exactly what they should do:
SINNING. It is the church that has become the
abnormal creature. We are supposed to be the
expression of Christ Himself.
A California pastor was praying for the lost.
God told him, "Call the church to repentance and
I will save the lost." He did and his church
began to grow every week! Let's give God the
simple respect and honor of believing His
promises.
III) ASK. "Ask of me, and I will give you the
nations." (Ps 2:8) We may miss the greatest
harvest just simply for lack of asking. How
tragic! "You do not have because you do not
ask." (James 4:2)
Have we cried out to God as one voice asking
for the conversion of the lost? Who is to blame
for their remaining in spiritual darkness, the
blind or the children of the God of Light? Let
us ASK God that Jesus might receive that for
which He suffered and that which He redeemed:
the lives of all the people of the earth.
IV) LOVE. Jesus said, "By this ALL WILL KNOW
that you are my disciples, if you have love for
one another." (Jn 13:35) Here Jesus does not say
that we are to love the sinner but to love ONE
ANOTHER. Yes, we are also commanded to love the
lost, bless those who curse us, etc. but the
POWER that brings salvation is found in loving
the Christians. Again, it may seem that the ways
of God are backward from our logic. It seems
that to win the sinner we should love him and
what we think about the church should not have
any bearing on the situation. But this is not
what God says. The promise says that IF we love
the brothers then all men will know that we
truly are the children of God and that we have a
message that they need to hear.
I know of a small church where the presence
of God is so powerful that it is almost too
intense to bear at times. This group also has a
little problem with its doctrine. It holds to a
unscriptural position as to the grace of God but
there is one thing they do have that is good.
These brothers have an intense love one for
another. In my opinion they are a little off
base doctrinally but God can put up with a
little of our funny doctrine. However, He cannot
and will not endure the way we treat the Body of
Christ sometimes.
A good minister friend of mine tells the
story about a church he used to belong to. At
times the presence of God would be incredibly
powerful. Visitors would seek out a member of
the group and ask, "How can I be a part of this?
How can I be saved?" And all this without anyone
necessarily preaching the Gospel in the meeting.
What was the distinguishing characteristic of
this group? Again, they had an unusual love for
each other. Jesus said (if we would only decide
to receive His words) "By this shall all know
..." if only we would love our brothers. Please
hear this: MANY TIMES IT IS EASIER TO HAND A
TRACT TO A SINNER THAN TO LOVE OUR BROTHER. And
the world pays the price for this by remaining
in darkness while the key to the Kingdom is in
our hands.
None of this is to say that if we just get
the church in order that this will impress the
hell out of the sinner. No; rather, this is
honoring God's Word and it will release a
spiritual force that will result in salvation.
Also we are not saying that we do not need
the name of Jesus to be saved. Yes, we do and He
must be preached. But the great need today is
that "... you shall BE witnesses..." (Acts 1:8)
and then DO witnessing.
I was on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico
on a hot, steamy day. I remember walking up a
steep rural road and I stopped to rest a moment.
The Lord suddenly spoke so clearly and casually
to me something I will never forget. He said,
"You know, the great need here (in Puerto Rico)
is not for the information of the Gospel, but
for the power of the Gospel AND for someone to
live it! (the Gospel)"
My dear brothers, let us live our message and
see one last great harvest before the end.
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