How To Show Others We Have What Anyone Would Want If They Knew

 

You can share the Gospel yourself, of courts. You have what everyone needs; it’s just sad that so many don’t realize it. (I share this at YouthOvercomingTheWorld.blogspot.com –Nov. 2022 I uploaded all these since Mar. 2020 for anyone.

Say you make the best food. People would crave this great creation! But someone sold it in a very mean way, which turned people off it. Others had no clue what they were doing and put stuff like dog food in it. Still others had never heard of it and had no clue why they should try it.

            That’s kind of how it is sharing the Gospel.

            The third crowd needs to see why it matters in their lives. We never change the message – the Gospel is always relevant because Jesus is the way to Heaven. The world needs to see it’s important, though. More about that later.

The first 2 are why we must be doctrinally sound (salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, Jesus is God in flesh, etc.) and safe people. CBT’s Dec. 18 message shows how safe people listen well(James 2:19) & don’t condemn. They show Jesus’ love in how they treat others, yet stand for truth.

Even with that, it often takes lots of prayer. My nephew Marshall does this for all his guitar students. The dad of one was led to Christ by him if I recall; anyway, this dad asked Marshall to baptize him, though Marshall isn’t a pastor. It’s just an outward expression of faith, so he can. (I can, too, though it makes sense to be in a church.)

Digging Deeper

            I say it often. Not everyone will admit the deeper pain, sadness, etc. they face. However, you can still tell them you know they’re hurting. It’s something some of them will only believe God can take care of if you show them – through your care and compassion – why they should trust God to do it, so they’ll talk to Him freely.

            You know my example where if I say I’m King of Belgium, what I do says nothing about the real King of Belgium. Use that or a similar one.  Or, change terms. Believers were first called “Christians” at Antioch. They were still followers of Christ before then. So, tell someone they don’t have to use that term right away. They can say “I’m a hot fudge sundae” if they want.😊 As long as it’s a neutral term & not anti-God. Doctrine is what’s vital. If they use it to mean they called on Jesus to save them from their sins, believing He is God in flesh a& died to take the punishment for their sins and rose from the dead, it’s okay. The Spirit will help them feel ok in time with saying they are a follower of Christ. I helped an online friend I, Paul Austin, trust Jesus to save him like that. He saw it’s what you did with Jesus in your heart that counts. (Keep praying for him, he still has issues, but as best I can tell, he trusted Jesus to save him from his sins and make him new inside.)

            So, if one does the ABCs -  1. Admit they’re a sinner and fall short of God’s perfect glory & they don’t deserve His perfect Heaven; 2. Believe Jesus is God in flesh and died to take the punishment for their sins and rose from the dead; and, 3. Call on Jesus to save them and repent (turn from their sins & let Jesus make them new inside), Confess they’re a sinner in need of a Saviour and Choose to let Him into their lives – they can know for sure they’ll go to Heaven as promised in John 3:16, 1 John 5:13, Jude 24, Rom. 8:38-39, John 10:28-30, Eph. 1:13-14, etc. I hope weekly church messages reinforce this for you.

            When people see your faith, they’ll listen to your words. Living a life that shows God’s love, service to others, etc. is vital. So, too, is being relevant. They need to know why they should take time from their busy lives to trust in God – or listen to you. These people want closer to 1 on 1 attention & don’t want a generic church stermon.

The Crowd That Asks Why it Matters

When we know Jesus as Saviour, it’s easy. We can share what He has done for us. Some will listen. Remember, though, many have a hard time because of lies they’ve been about God. Yes, that gets into the first 2 categories, but it has some impact here, too. They can know He’s a Saviour because He is God in flesh. But, they still might wonder what sin I, with only head knowledge of Him. Here are ways to start.

First, ask questions. Jesus did it often. Sometimes, you can ask about perfect peace, unconditional love, etc., to get them thinking. Some don’t know these things can be had, after all. Ask if they think it’s even possible. Lots of people are so busy, yet so anxious, and they need a forever friend. Jesus will give them all that if they just call on Him to save them from their sin and live in them, making them new inside.

Unsaved people see the economy the richest getting richer, etc., all the world problems, & know something’s wrong, they just don’t know what. That’s why I point out how close Jesus’ return could be & the urgency we must have. Eople don’t want to be left behind. They need sure thing in eternal life with Jesus.

Others can be asked questions like Jesus did with things like the Good Samaritan parable. A key, though, is to admit we are sinners, too. We are all beggars telling other beggars where to buy bread. There are 2 types of people – saved sinners and lost sinners. It’s just that after you trust Jesus by calling on Him by faith to save you, when you sin God sees the blood of Jesus covering you. It will never lose its power. The Spirit will just convict you it was sin and lead you to confess and forsake that sin.

Asking things like “Have you ever lied?” “Have you said something mean you shouldn’t have?” And so on is great. Use your own examples, and explain when you mess up, you ask Jesus to forgive you and He does, because of that personal relationship. You know you should trust Him to help you not do those things.

Phil. 1:6 is a good verse here. “He who has begun a good work in you will be faithful to perform it.” He is still working on each of us. We are better than we were, closer to being like Jesus. And, if the person still challenges you, why not challenge them that if they trust Jesus to save them, maybe they will grow faster.

Some say God doesn’t send anyone to hell. The problem is twofold. 1. They don’t realize we choose to go there when we reject His free gift of salvation; and, 2. The worst part of hell is the separation from God forever – no unconditional love, no peace, no comfort, none of the things people long for Him to give them. That’s because He can’t let any sin into His perfect Heaven. It wouldn’t be perfect if He did.

People are lied to a lot – the devil is the father of lies. A member of one message board I shared said a good book about spotting them is Sharon James’ “The Lies We Are Told, The Truth We Must Hold.” I’ve never read it so don’t know it. , use Godly discernment. Still, thisties in with stuff about thinking. Some call us better than God formaking artificial intelligence and such. But God made us perfect. We sin of our free will. We are imperfect. We can never equal God. God loves unconditionally & gave Himself to die on the cross for your sins and rise from the dead. All AI is from man-made algorithms based on worldly thinking, not Godly. Demons could even live in an AI, Iindeed, Asimove’s famous “I, Robot” – the book, much different than the movie – has one which can brainwash humans like the antichrist will.  Even with the ability to make its own worldview, like unsaved man it’d just be based on worldly stuff, not God’s perfect plan. Trust God’s Holy Spirit, not man.

Culture Problems – Working, etc., Standing For The Right Things At The Right Timef

Any of the pastors at Canton Baptist, or others, will gladly help you share the Gospel or answer others’ questions. I share a few apologetics answers in the blog I share at the start of this.

So let’s talk about those who trust Christ as Saviour. There’s a change for the better. They might have more peace or not swear as much or whatever. It’s clearly from God. But they struggle due to culture. Jesus wants to help them grow to be more like Him. But where they were raised, where they live, etc. is so different.

One devotional especially talks about overcoming family patterns of sin. For some it just takes practice – and I mean role playing, out loud practice, etc – to develop Godly reactions.

Remember where we talked about how to think and how to avoid reacting so much? Here is what I mean by Godly reactions – and how practice (like that example about the man and the broken sidewalk) can help. There’s a family called the Lomelinos which some neat YouTube videos - a great Christian family.  In one, cute little JoJo was getting a little loud with her dad in one from about 6 years ago and he reminded her that she needed to watch how she talked and asked if she needed a piece retreat.  She was able to control herself and talk in a more polite voice.  Anyway, I loved the term peace retreat and thought it was a good term to use when a couple kids are fighting or something. I also wanted to use it to illustrate how we must be the ones to show the world how to be peaceable and nice to others and things like that. Just having that in a video is a great example.

Some say “calmness is hard in our culture.” First, if we’re going to make the most of our walk with God, we need to be like Jesus, right? People need to see a difference in us compared to the world. Second, we don’t have to do it on our own strength, anyway. We must rely on God to help us, since the flesh and Spirit are at war.

Not only that, but if you’re usually calm, people will notice and be more likely to listen if you do have to put your foot down on something.

Remember “Courageous,” how Javier tells his boss he can’t lie, even if his refusal cost him his job? If he was always grouchy, complaining, lazy, etc., his refusal woud mean nothing to his boss. It meant a lot since he was so good otherwise.

“You forgot that was a test,” you say. True. But not all bosses do it as a test. Some ask employees to sin for real. If an employee says “No, I’m sorry, that is a sin,” or “I promised to be there & I can’t be replaced,” it goes over much better if they’re always dependable, courteous, loyal, etc. otherwise. A church van driver 20 years ago caved when asked by Timken to work Sunday. A route couldn’t be run some weeks because of it. I thought he’d missed a chance to honor God. Now I wonder: Was he grouchy there so he felt he couldn’t say “no”? He was 25 years older, but I was coaching him then to say thanks & show appreciation. Had he been where God wanted him spiritually, he could have said politely that he couldn’t do it that first Sunday due to promises he’d made, and at least at first, being short notice, he’d run the route. God might have let him decline anyway, so there was a lack of faith, too. Still, spiritual growth means being prepared so God can use you later, not just now.

Phil. 2:3-4 says to esteem others better than ourselves, so I didn’t focus on his flaws. I just helped him continue to be more thankful, and he did. I trusted God with it. God showed in His perfect time how that man’s attitude may have hurt him. Maybe I only recalled and realized it now so you’d see the need to have a good attitude and stand for Godly principles in the face of adversity. Don’t stray from God – or break promises to Him – no matter what the world says. With so much darkness in it, the Light of the Lord must be shown.

 

Keep Walking in The Light – Stay out of Darkness

Living in the light is hard. The world’s system hates God; it celebrates the devil at times. But some are still grateful for kind, dependable, courteous people, and who will work with those who promise to serve in their church & can’t be replaced on short notice. Or those who can’t find child care and call off 1-2 times, as one CBT member did a few times last summer. (If you could get to Cana Fulton, maybe you could help.😊)

Darkness is growing out there. That Chabad I mentioned that some Israeli leaders are into has very occultic parts. Evil spirits are real, therefore 1 John says the “spirit of antichrist” is already in the world. We must stay away from all occult or other dark spirits, and claim the name of Jesus Christ anytime such things seem near.

How to recognize it? God commands us to edify one another. The devil wants to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10) The devil tries to make us think we have power, but in fact, he has all the power in darkness and is just tricking us. If God takes something, it’s because what God has for us is far better than what we have now. Like giving up excuses and stepping out in faith like Javier did. He put his job on the line & God kept it.

Those who don’t understand still know something is wrong. Even in our culture, we often hear of people who are in “a very dark place” in their lives. God’s light can shine in that darkness and help them have peace, joy, and the other fruit of the Spirit. You and your generation must help your peers see this. Some do actively cheer the devil; and you can findout who and avoid it. Yet others are only worried about themselves, not realizing that there are eternal rewards to be had when we give of our time, talents. etc.

One sign came in CBT’s 1/15 message; it’s why CBT had to stop paying to air services on cable. You wouldn’t want your employer to pay someone else your paycheck. Or if you eat at Dairy Queen, you wouldn’t skip paying, or say “I’ll pay McDonalds for this.” US churches get 1.9% of peoples’ income - less than in the Great Depression! So, tithe 10% where you attend & grow spiritually. Give extra to specific ministries of the church - like Camp CHOF or missions – or to other ministries(like Hannah’s House 119).

God will bless your giving – I see it often in my life. Pray others do, too.

I know not everyone understands churches depend on members giving. If we worry about all the day to day things, it’s easy to ignore how we are needed for things to function. I’ve known youth who think a rich person owns a church. They don’t understand since they’ve never known anyone they could ask. This is why I echoed my Government teacher, Jack Lang, when I said in June. 2021 to keep learning your whole lives. Although, of course, that learning needs to be with the Bible as the foundation, because God’s Word is Truth.(John 17:17) But you have learned how a ministry needs money. Think of it as paying God’s electric bill so you don’t have to be the only one shining the light of Jesus. 😊

            And, if you start your own Bible study in your home, that’s good, too – but nour area, at least, there are still a few good churches that are loving and friendly and still share the Gospel. I’ll mention the best at the end here.

Giving Is About Time, Too – Serve At Home and Church

            So many people need the Lord. Even if you don’t get a car, a drivers license is great to bring people to church. But, don’t limit yourself to just worshiping at home or sitting in a pew. I’ll cover serving the Lord more in my finale – and before you get too teary, I might write each Christmas or something if I have your addresses, but I can’t guarantee it. It’s why I mentioned social media. I love watching and seeing how everyone is doing – and praying for you. I covered the above since I’d never really talked about tithing, just about giving of your time and talents. So, I felt it was important.

            Marshall is a great example. He teaches guitar, does street evangelism with a friend, etc. It’s hard to find a church really on fire for God less than half an hour drive away(He’d likely attend Dr. Tony Evans’ if he was closer), but he & his wife host Bible studies and invite others. They might even start a 501c3 ( all churches are, too). Many your age and 10-20 years older see the rapid decline of churches. But those who follow Christ need to recall one big thing.

            We, as believers, are the Church.

            We should still attend when we can if there’s a good, doctrinally sound one. I’m just sharing this so you know not to judge harshly those who struggle. And, so you’ll take such people to church yourself. A great sign when leaving one would be, “You’ve been to church today – now BE the Church all week.”

            There are many ministries where you can help outside of church,too. Some of you girls, when older, might be great volunteers with Hannah’s House 119. Child Evangelism Fellowship is always looking for people to start neighborhood clubs. I mentioned you could start a 501c3 of your own. Get good tracts from a church and give them to people in public areas or on door handles in your neighborhood. (Never in mailboxes or other church lots, those are private and in fact the post office prohibits it.) Trust God to guide you in the right direction, so you can do all you can to glorify Him and make Him known.

            Remember that we have something the world wants.Not many realize they want it.But, the more they see of Godly believers living for the cause of Christ, the more likely they’ll be to want to trust Jesus to save them.