PRINCIPLES OF EVANGALISM FROM THE LIFE OF JESUS

"THE FACTS OF THE MATTER"

"A weekly letter of encouragement to business and professional men and women"

March 10, 2010

Good Morning!

PRINCIPLES OF EVANGALISM FROM THE LIFE OF JESUS

Personally, winning people to Christ is about the most challenging thing in my life.  How do you approach someone?  How long do you wait before you bring up the person of Christ?   One of the maddening things about Christ’s style of evangelism is that he never used the same approach twice.  Each encounter was tailor-made.  Jesus called us to be spiritual fishermen (Matt. 4:19 , 20).  Perhaps there is something to be learned in the fact that fishermen use “lures” rather than dynamite to catch fish.

The account of Jesus winning the Samaritan woman to himself in John 4 furnishes us with important principles of evangelism.  They include the following:

Don’t wait until it is convenient to share Christ.  Two observations:  (1) Jesus was tired from his journey, (2) In the Samaritan culture men did not converse in public with strange women: ^”Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?’"  (Jn. 4:6, 7)  (See Ecc. 11:4-6; 2 Tim. 4:2)

Obligate yourself to the person.  In this case, Jesus asked a favor.  ”When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?’" (Jn. 4:7)

Create curiosity by introducing a spiritual element into the conversation that addresses a need.  “Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.’" (Jn. 4:10)

Avoid argumentation by addressing the person’s real need: In this woman’s case, she possessed a need for spiritual fulfillment.   ^“Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."  (Jn. 4:13, 14)

Reveal who Christ is when you detect spiritual interest.  ^“The woman said, ‘I know that Messiah’ (called Christ) ‘is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.’  Then Jesus declared, ‘I who speak to you am he.’" (Jn. 4:25, 26)

Ask God to give you a passion for his work. “He said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you know nothing about.’ Then his disciples said to each other, Could someone have brought him food?’  ‘My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.’”  (Jn. 4:32-34)

Recognize that the harvest is over-ripe for evangelism/reaping.  Jesus:  “Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.’”  (Jn. 4:35)

Understand that sowing and reaping is a joint effort, and mutual cause for rejoicing. “Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true.” (Jn. 4:36, 37)

Know that your reaping may be the result of others’ hard work of planting. ^”I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”  (Jn. 4:38) (See 1 Cor. 3:6,7)

PRAYER – “Lord, would you grant me the compassion to care enough for those outside of Christ to lovingly involve myself in their lives as an instrument of your grace.  Would you grant me the privilege of participating with you in the  noble work of sowing and reaping.  Amen.”

My prayer is that you are having a great week!

R. Dwight Hill

Stretching the Truth

Monday, March 08, 2010

Today's Text: Proverbs 4:24

Stretching the Truth

“Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.” Proverbs 4:24
I worked for a carpenter one summer between college semesters. Being the inexperienced apprentice, occasionally I would cut a board too short. Seeing that I had wasted a good board, my frustrated boss would reply: “Get the wood stretcher!”
His point? Wood doesn’t stretch.
Neither does the truth. Once stretched, it is no longer the truth. It is “crooked, devious talk.”
But let’s face it. Stretching the truth now and then can be a handy option, especially if we are in trouble or trying to gain some advantage. But if you think that twisting or slightly adjusting the truth isn’t damaging, think again. When Satan spoke to Eve in Genesis 3, he exaggerated God’s command—“Don’t eat of this one tree”—asking her if God had really said, “You shall not eat from every tree.” Due to his clever mismanagement of true truth, Eve no longer felt that God was generous and good but rather stingy and restrictive. This distortion of the truth planted seeds of doubt and distrust in Eve’s mind that blossomed into disastrous disobedience—a disobedience that has significantly damaged each of us as well.
Every day there are plenty of opportunities to fall to the temptation of mismanaging the truth for our own advantage. Sins of the tongue like flattery, boasting, gossip, and slander are all easily committed when we lose a high regard for the truth.
But under the surface, distorting the truth is a sign of some serious internal problems. Anger is a fertile spawning ground for exaggerating someone’s faults in order to wound them when they have hurt or crossed us.
If your life is committed to “me first” and to making sure you are on top of the pile, your twisted truth words will quickly betray your addiction to yourself.
Pride will lead you to embellish the truth to help you feel better about yourself or to make you look better than others. Seductive thoughts will lead you to flattery and alluring twists of the truth. A greedy heart will hide the true faults of a product and embellish its virtues just to make a sale.
But beware, stretching the truth for your personal advantage ultimately backfires. It’s our character that suffers as landmark virtues like trust and credibility, two building blocks of successful relationships, get slain on the battlefield of our self-serving twisting of the truth. Turning anger to patience and forgiveness; turning self-serving instincts to loving others; turning pride to true humility and greed to generosity will enable you to have the courage to experience the joy of telling it like it really is—which, believe it or not, will ultimately produce better outcomes than stressing yourself out by always twisting and turning the truth to your own gain. As the poet Sir Walter Scott said, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!”
 YOUR JOURNEY…

• In what kind of situations do you tend to distort the truth? Choose the most prevalent one and make a plan to tell the truth regardless.
• Think through the kinds of internal problems that tempt you to stretch and twist the truth. What steps could you take to transition your sinful attitude to a truth-telling attitude?
• Make a plan now to take at least one opportunity to tell the truth clearly as a blessing to someone else before this day is done!

Joy of Loving Jesus

Just realised from the devotion I read this morning that Rev 3:20 is actually written for Christians in the church of Laodicia although we always quote it for unbelievers. Yes, Jesus always desires for us to open the door and welcome Him into our heart to fellowship with Him. Let's not be lukewarm but hot for the Lord.

Joy of Loving Jesus

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

We’ve all done the “Knock, knock! Who’s there?” routine. But what would you do if Jesus was knocking at your door and it was not really a “knock, knock” joke at all?

Well, that’s exactly the setting in Christ’s letter to the church in Laodicea.  Out of the seven letters in Revelation to the churches of Asia, the Laodiceans have the distinct honor of the strongest reproof. And that’s saying something since some of the other churches were entertaining heresy in their teaching and encouraging sexual immorality! Jesus lets the Laodiceans know in no uncertain terms how He feels, when He writes, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16). Which is a nice way of saying, “You make me sick, and I feel like vomiting!” Really. That’s how strong the language is.

I don’t ever want Jesus to say that about me. Do I have a witness?

So what’s the problem? Jesus explains that He is deeply offended by them because, as He says, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (v. 17). Their affluence had not only blinded them to the true condition of their hearts but had inflicted them with the sin of self-sufficiency. Because they had all they needed, they felt like they had need of nothing—not even Christ. When we forget how desperately we really need Jesus, it bothers Him, and it should! We easily forget that every good thing we have comes from God (James 1:17). None of us would have a dime to our name or clothes on our back if it weren’t for the grace of God in our lives, providing everything we need in abundance. How can we get so consumed with all the gifts that we forget the giver? Thinking we have it made without needing Him just may be life’s most fatal spiritual mistake.

Where does it leave Jesus when we are caught up in our self-sufficient world? It leaves Him on the outside! Toward the end of His comments to the Laodiceans, He says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me” (v.20). I love the fact that Jesus, though offended by our sense of flagrant independence, still wants us! He still longs for the intimate fellowship that occurred around the dinner tables of the ancient world. And don’t think you are off the hook just because you think that the knocking on the door metaphor is about non-Christians accepting Christ. Don’t miss the point! In this text, Jesus is talking to Christians. To people like you and me who because of our God-supplied abundance no longer sing the old song, “I need Thee, O I need Thee; every hour I need Thee . . .”
He calls us to repent (v. 19) and to open the door of our hearts to let Him in. He calls us to pursue the riches of fellowship with Him and to covet the things that money can’t buy but that He can supply—the real wealth of character, purity, and wisdom (v.18). Imagine the “dining room” of your life filled with an attitude of gratitude for what you have (which beats attitudes of greed and grumpiness), contentment with what you have (which beats being out of breath trying to get your hands on the next best thing), and humility that you have been given anything at all (which beats thinking that you really deserve all of the stuff)!

Knock, knock! Who’s there? It’s Jesus! Welcome Him in today.

Your Journey . . .

• Read Revelation 3:14-22 as if Jesus were speaking directly to you. Specifically jot down how His words to His followers in Laodicea apply to you. What will you do to reprioritize your life and turn from the sin of self-sufficiency to a fresh sense of daily reliance on Jesus?
• Take a look around you, and let all your material stuff serve as reminders that God has been generous beyond what you deserve!  What if it all were lost? Would you feel that He really is all you need?
• Write a prayer responding to the Lord’s statements in Revelation 3. Invite Him to come in. Repent of the self-sufficiency that has blocked the reality of how desperately you need Him.

Heaven - This Way

Heaven - This Way

“You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:4

The classic World War II movie The Longest Day portrays one of the clever military strategies of the German army. After the Allies had taken the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, their orders were to assemble in the town of St. Mere-Eglise in France. When they saw the sign for St. Mere-Eglise, naturally they proceeded in that direction. There was only one problem: The Germans had turned the sign to point in the opposite direction.
Unknowingly, the Allied forces confidently followed the sign and started marching toward the German trap. The hero of the Allied forces, played by John Wayne, showed up just in time to rescue them from certain destruction. One glance at his compass told him they were heading for disaster. “Hey, where’s everybody going?” he shouted. “Am I the only one here with a compass? It’s east; it’s east. Somebody moved the sign!”
It’s an old trick, but in our spiritual lives Satan continues to use it against us with great success. He turns the signs pointing to ultimate victory and a great final destiny toward the defeating attitudes of fear, despair, and hopelessness. Jesus, on the eve of His death, wanted to prepare His friends for the battle ahead. He knew that the disciples would be confused and disoriented by the enemy, so He lovingly assured them of victory and pointed them toward their final destination, heaven. He’s done the same for us. He assures us that regardless of the forces that might come against us today, heaven is just ahead and the victory is ours!
Jesus won the victory on “D-Day” when He died on the cross for you! At that point it was His intention to set your heart on heaven. Keeping our eyes on heaven means that regardless of what we face, we know where we are headed. Heavenward travelers proceed with the confidence that all the difficulties of the journey are merely temporary and well worth the pain in light of the ultimate and eternal joy of our destination. But beware! Satan wants nothing more than to distract and disorient your heart. He craftily points the sign toward feelings of inadequacy and defeat. He masks the signs pointing to guilt and regret with slick invitations to seduction and compromise. In fact, many of his distractions claim that heaven is really the here and now if only you will engage in a little out-of-bounds pleasure or in living to increase your stacks of stuff. When we think we’ve got heaven here, the enemy has won the day. But it’s not too late to get back on track. Jesus holds the compass, and He knows that to follow Satan’s clever shifting of the sign is to walk right into the trap of Satan’s destruction. He knows the territory well and is calling us to follow Him all the way to heaven—the ultimate destination of eternal fulfillment and joy!

Hear Him shouting to your heart: “Hey, you’re going the wrong way! Follow me!”

 YOUR JOURNEY…

• What earth-side stuff has gotten you off the heaven-bound way with Jesus lately? Is it an attitude, an emotion, an action, or a temptation that you consistently fall prey to? How would a clear view of your destination help you to rearrange your priorities and to turn your back on the destructive failures of going in the wrong direction? Be specific.
• If you knew that it was Satan who was beckoning you to go in the wrong direction, would it make any difference? Read 1 Peter 5:8. What steps can you take to get your life back on the road toward heaven?

I Surrender All

by: Jessica Heikoop
Romans 12:1-2 Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. (v. 1)


The congregation was enthusiastically singing I Surrender All.

Our pastor once observed that if we were being honest, most of us would have to change the words a bit and sing “I surrender most” or even “I surrender some.” Unfortunately he was right. God does not call us to surrender only part of ourselves to him. He calls for complete surrender.

Another way to look at this idea of full surrender is through Paul’s words in the passage we read today. The term “living sacrifice” is a powerful appeal and somewhat of an ominous expression at first glance. As Nancy Leigh DeMoss explains, though, it simply means to offer our bodies as a “complete presentation of ourselves to God.” It means that we devote ourselves to him with all willingness.


This encompasses every aspect of our lives. It is rendering to God all that we are and all that we have. True surrender doesn’t just pick and choose those parts of ourselves that we feel like giving him. He wants all of us, not just a portion of our lives, not a small fragment of our time, not merely a fraction of our possessions.
Selective surrender isn’t real surrender. If you want to be a living sacrifice, you can’t say, “Lord, you can have my heart but not my head, my voice but not my hands and feet.” You can only say, “Lord, I surrender all.”

************************

One of my previous churches stopped singing this hymn after a visiting speaker remarked that when we sang it, how many of us really meant what we were singing.........

The Cross

The Cross

A young man was at the end of his road , seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer.

"Lord, I can't go on," he said. "I have too heavy a cross to bear."
The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place your cross inside this room. Then, open that other door and pick out any cross you wish."
The man was filled with relief and said, "Thank you Lord," and he did as he was told.
Upon entering the other room, he saw many crosses; some so large the tops were not visible. Then, he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall.
"I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered.
The Lord replied, "My son, that is the cross you just brought in."
***

When life's problems seem overwhelming, it helps to look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself far more fortunate than you imagined.
***

YOUR CROSS
Whatever your cross
Whatever your pain
There will always be sunshine
After the rain Perhaps you may stumble
Perhaps even fall
But God's always there
To help you through it all ______________________________________________________________________
HLCE Online is on the web

Sand & Stone

Sand & Stone

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE."
They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE."

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?" The other friend replied: "When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."

______________________________________________________________________
HLCE Online is on the web
at http://www.hlce.org.my
©HLCE 2000-2005