Tag Archives: reaching the lost

Jan 23

Fulfilling One of the Hardest Commands Ever Given

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Group Pic 1This past weekend several of our high school students, along with myself and a couple other adults, traveled to Savannah, Tennessee for a youth conference totally devoted to evangelism. This was the 14th year of this conference and it continues to get better each year. It is the one event I always look forward to attending.

Over the course of this weekend, I watched as over 1,400 students spent time learning and discussing ways they can be more evangelistic in their schools, communities and youth groups. It never fails, everyone always leaves Evangelism University (EU) excited to implement the things they have learned over the weekend. This year was no different. I am excited to see what happens as the students and adults begin to put into practice the ideas that were discussed.

However, as I walked away from EU this year, perhaps for the first time in all my years of attending and teaching at this conference, my heart and mind were truly opened to how many people in the world around me are lost and dying in sin because they have never come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and acted upon their faith in Him.

Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Did you catch what Jesus said? There are many people in life who are walking down an easy path but the problem is this path leads to destruction. Only a few people have chosen to walk down the hard, narrow path that leads to life.

I don’t know about you, but this verse disturbs me and it should. It should disturb me to know that more people will spend eternity in hell than in heaven. It should disturb me to know that some of the people I love most, may be some of the very people who are walking down a path to destruction. Friends, it should disturb us to the point we are willing to do something about those who are lost and dying in sin. It’s time we acted upon the command left behind by Jesus before He returned back home to the Father. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). It’s time we did our part in making disciples of Christ.

If those of us who claimed to be Christians were half as passionate about evangelism as we are our favorite sports team, band or movie star, perhaps we would make more of an effort to bring people to Jesus. It’s time we developed a passion for something that truly matters in life! It’s time we took Jesus’ command seriously.

Take a good look at the people around you today. How many of those people are you willing to ignore and allow to continue down a path that leads to destruction? My hope and prayer is that it’s not many!

QUESTION: What can YOU and the congregation you attend do to make 2013 the year you reach out and evangelize those who are lost in sin? I’d love to hear your ideas. Please leave your comments below.

Dec 10

Reaching Non-Believers

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We live in a world where the majority of the people around us are lost and dying in sin. They are lost because they have never obeyed the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As people who probably have friends and family who are lost, what can we do to reach these people?

  1. Befriend them. Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors, groups of individuals most people chose to avoid (Matt. 9:9-13). Why would Jesus go against the common practice of society? Jesus knew you couldn’t lead someone without first befriending them.
  2. Love them. The second greatest command is to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt. 22:39). Jesus lived this commandment out daily. When He saw the crowds of people, Jesus felt compassion for them (Matt. 9:35-36).
  3. Serve them. Jesus came to earth to be a servant (Mk. 10:44-45; Phil. 2:5-8). If we want to make a difference in the lives of others and help lead them to Christ, we have to be willing to get our hands dirty (Jn. 13:12-14).
  4. Pray for them. Jesus spent a lot of alone time praying. Don’t you suppose at least some of His prayers were devoted to praying for the lost? In the Lord’s prayer of John 17, Jesus prayed for 1) Himself, 2) His disciples, 3) Future believers. What better way to reach non-believers than by praying for them on a continual basis and asking God to help you teach them.
  5. Teach them. I know this may seem like one of those “duh” moments, but I think many times we fail to act in this area. Jesus was about the business of teaching (Matt. 4:23; Mk. 6:6). How often do we teach those who are lost? As Christians, it’s our responsibility to reach out to non-believers and teach them (Matt. 28:19-20; Mk. 16:15; Acts 1:8).

Sin is a BIG deal and it’s time Christians started treating it that way! Let’s open our eyes and ask God to give us opportunities to reach the lost around us (Matt. 9:37-38).

Now that’s Something to Think About!