Practicing Evangelism

   So, I am trying to get better at sharing my faith. A couple weeks ago, a guy from my Sunday School class went to the Galleria and handed out gospel tracks. We probably handed out around a 100 tracks. We started talking to a few people. We have been doing the Way of the Master study in our Sunday School class, which teaches how to best present the Gospel by using God's law. Hopefully he and I will be able to go again and do more then just pass out tracks. Hopefully we will have much deeper conversations with people.

Knowing God

     A few days ago I finished Knowing God by J.I. Packer. It was a really amazing book. It hit on the major themes of Christianity. Packer devoted a lot of time on the different characteristics of God. He was able to reconcile the love of God with the wrath of God. Packer reminds Christians that their primary study and desire in life is God. He says in his book that Christians should always be mindful of the fact that God has adopted us into his family. That statement ought to change the way Christians think about the Lord. David Platt listed this book as suggested reading material on his last Secret Church. I can definitely see how this book influenced that teaching. This will be a book that I will endeavor to read at least once a year. I would suggest that this book be read by new and old believers alike. This would even be a book for brothers and sisters in Christ to give out to non believers. 

Radical Together

       If you have not read Radical, you need to. The author, David Platt, is a pastor at a Birmingham church called The Church of Brook Hills.  I read it a few months ago. That book focuses on how the " American Dream" has perverted the way Christians in America worship. Platt spends most of book pleading Christians to wake up.  He uses verses from the Bible to challenge Christians to not be comfy and barricade themselves in churches, while ignore the dark and dying world.  Christians are suppose to use their time, knowledge, and resources to honor and reach the world for God. Radical will kick you in the head and make you realize that there is more to Christianity then good sermons, entertaining music, and fun programs. Christianity is living a life like Christ. Giving all or yourself to God, and not just Sundays.
       I decided to read David Platt's new book Radical Together. This book was written in a similar style as his first book, Radical. It had the basic themes of the first book. However, this one focused more on the church, instead of the individual. The book focuses on how the church's money and resources need to reflect on making an impact for the Lord. A lot of churches like to focus on carnivals, lock ins, and movie nights. These things provide good, clean entertainment, but Platt challenges the reader to examine if these things really make a difference for Christ. Or could the churches money be used to plant a church, help adopt children, take care of homeless, or help the millions of dying people in Africa and Asia. Platt argues that if one's heart has truly acknowledged Christ as the Lord then they will share the Gospel with the whole world.
      I personally think that if churches are not doing anything to enhance the Kingdom of God, then they are no different from a community center. I think churches are too concerned with traditions and "doing things like they have always done", that they lose the beauty of the Gospel.
     I also agree with Platt statements about the Great Commission. Matthew 28: 19-20 says " Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." It is the duty of all Christians to go make disciples. Not a few, but all. People think evangelism is inviting people to church. They believe that once they hear the words of the preacher they are saved. Even though I am someone who might be dead if now if someone hadn't invited me to church, I disagree with that. The church is suppose to equip Christians to take the gospel to "all nations".

Journaling

     On March 23 2011, made a change in how I study God's Word. I used to read the Bible on my bed. Most of the times I read it on my bed. Sometimes I would fall asleep. Occasionally I would make notes in my Bible. There were times I could not remember  what I had just read. In March I knew I needed to make a change. I decided that I would start keeping a journal. I went to Barnes and Noble and picked out a journal for myself. This has worked out very well for me. I write questions to ask people much more along in their faith then me. I write my own little commentary. I write how I can apply certain verses to my life. I keep track of what I learn. I also write down my prayers for each day. This has definitely helped with me comprehending what I read it. It has also made my quiet times more focused. Today will be my last entry into my journal. I have already bought a new one. Keeping a journal through my quiet times has been very helpful.  I recommend this for all.

This is my journal. Yes it has Harry Potter on it. Don't judge me.

Preaching to the Dead

      So, I just wanted to share with all of you who might come across this blog about something that I read in Jesus Rose for You, which is a book that is a collection of Charles Spurgeon's sermons that I have been reading. I would like to share what he wrote about preaching to unbelievers.

    "Oh, sons of men, if you really want to know God,'ye must be born again' (John 3:7). 'Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God' (John 3:3); he cannot understand it; he cannot know it. The carnal man cannot understand the things of God, which are eternal and invisible, anymore than an ox can understand astonomy or a fish can admire the classics. Poor humanity is dead, not in a moral sense or in a mental sense, but in a spiritual sense, and this is the way in which the Word of God very definitely describes it again and again.
     Consider the many bodies that are sleeping in graveyards. They are quite unconscious are they not? What evergoes on around them neither brings them joy nor causes them grief. Friends they have left behind may water their graves with their tears, but no answering signs come from the gloomy caverns of the tomb. ...
     It is the same way with men who are spiritually dead. They are unaffected by spirtual things. They can hear of a dying Savior, whose groans might move the very adament and make the rocks dissolve, without being moved at all... The pangs of hell do not alarm them, and the joys of heaven do not entice them....
      Someone might say, 'If this is so, then why do you tell spiritually dead people to repent and be converted.' Why do I speak to the spiritually dead in this way and tell them to perform actions that they cannot do? Because my Master tells me to, and as I obey my Master's command, a power goes forth with the word that is spoken, and the dead are startled in their sleep. They awaken through the quickening power of the Holy Spirit, and those who cannot naturally repent and believe, do repent, believe in Jesus, escape from their former sins, and believe."

    If you are sharing the Gospel with someone and they reject it or do not understand it, it is because they are spiritually dead. It is as though you are speaking to a dead body and telling it to come alive. Do not be discouraged if you are preaching the Word and do not see conversions left and right. YOU can not save anyone. Only God can save someone through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Evangelism

    So, I am still reading, Jesus Rose for You by Charles Spurgeon. I wanted to share with you a couple of quotes from this book, which is a collection of his sermons. These particular quotes deal with evangelism. This is convicting for me and I hope that it convicts you.

"A preacher should never be afraid of getting in front of a congregation when the Gospel is his theme. Jesus, who gives him a consecrated tongue, will provide willing ears that will listen to him. At His command, deserted sanctuaries grow crowded, and the people throng to hear the joyful sound. Yes, and He can do more than that, for He can make the word powerful so that thousands are converted. ...It is our job to proclaim the Gospel and to believe that no one is beyond the saving power of Jesus Christ."

Alright, did you catch that. He said it was our job to proclaim the Gospel. By "our" he means all Christians. He didn't say pastors. He didn't say religious scholars. He didn't say super Christians. He said all. Don't believe him? "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. Charles Spurgeon said it was our job to preach the Gospel, because that is what Jesus said. 

"Dear brother, dear sister, to how many have you told the story of redemption by the blood of Jesus? Perhaps you have been a believer for some time now. To whom have you spoken about Jesus, or whom have you written about Him? Are you distributing, as best you can, the words others have spoken or written about the Gospel, if you are not able able to formulate the words yourself? Do not reply, 'I belong to a church that is doing much for the Gospel'.  That is not the point. I am speaking of what are you doing personally. Jesus did not die for us by proxy, but he bore 'our sins in his own body on the tree' (I Peter 2:24). I ask then, what are you doing personally. Are you doing anything at all? I can imagine someone saying 'But I can not become a missionary.' Are you sure you cannot? I have been waiting for a time when numbers of Christians will feel that they must go to preach the Gospel overseas and will relinquish comforts and compensations for the Lord's sake."

This passage was very convicting to me. I tell people all the time about T.V. shows I like, movies I have seen, and books that I have read. I have not told a lot of people about what Christ has done for me. But I need to. Right now I am going through an evangelism study in Sunday School. Hopefully that will prepare me to share the Gospel with people. A lot of people think that evangelism is inviting people to church and letting the preacher's message speak to them. But this is not correct. The church is to prepare Christ followers to bring the Gospel into the world. People tend to focus on the church building and not on the work of the church.

He is not Here

    
     Today I started a book called Jesus Rose for You by Charles Spurgeon. Charles Spurgeon was an English preacher in the 19th century. It has been estimated that he preached to 10,000,000 people during his lifetime. Which was a pretty big deal in his day since there were no T.V.s or radio. He preached ten different times a week in several different places. He is referred to as the "Prince of Preachers" according to many. I wanted to share with you what I found today in the second chapter. He uses the Resurrection scene with the Angel and Mary and the other women to explain how we should live.
    
    " And does this truth, that Christ is not here but is gone, not fall upon our ears with a sweet force as it compels us to feel that this is the reason why our hearts should not be here? Since "He is not here", then our hearts should not be here. When this text, "He is not Here", was first spoken it meant that he was not in the grave. He was somewhere else on earth then. But now He no longer lives here in the flesh; He has gone to heaven.
    Suppose you are very rich, and Satan whispers to you, "You live in a stately mansion, surrounded by delightful gardens. You can take it easy." You should reply to him, "But He is not here; He has risen. Therefore, I do not dare to put my heart where my Lord no longer is." Or, suppose your family makes you very happy, and as the little ones cluster around you and you all sit together in front of a cozy fire, your heart is very glad. Though you do not have much of this world's good, you have enough, and you have a contended mind. Well, if Satan should say to you, "Be well content, and take your rest here, "say to him, "No, 'He is not here' and I cannot feel that this is to be my place of rest. Only where Jesus is can my spirit rest."
    Have you just started out in life? Have you recently been married? Are you now beginning the happy days of youth, the sweet enchantment of this life's purest joy? Well, delight in this, but still remember that "He is not here," and therefore you have no right to say to your self, "You can take it easy!" Christ is nowhere on earth that your heart may build its nest. Let your soul rise up to God, and let all your sweetest incense go toward Him who "'is not here: for he is risen.'" - Charles Spurgeon

     Brothers and sisters remember that although we may find happiness on this earth through hobbies, our job, and arms of others, this is not our home. This is just a temporary stop. This life will be a blink of an eye compared with the eternity that awaits.  God does not want us to hear His Word and then not glorify His Kingdom. He does not want us to store up wealth, but use what we have to help others. He wants us to make an impact for Him and not camp out and barricade ourselves in our churches. If any Christian feels ill at ease about life on this earth then that is good because our home "is not here".