To take the selfish course is unthinkable in the economy of heaven, first of all because the Bible states very plainly that this is the only reason we as Christians are still here. Our home is heaven, not this earth. Jesus has not left us here to chase after things and inheritances and to accumulate the things of the world. That is not why He has left us here. He has left us here as soldiers to carry the message of His love and forgiveness to as many people as will listen and believe. If we choose the selfish course, to make the world our home, what are we saying to the lost? We are saying "Don’t turn to Christ, our message is not true. This life is all there is so you better grab onto all you can while you can, because when you die, it is all over!" Unbelievers don’t just hear our words, they hear our lives and what we are willing to sacrifice to bring them the message of Jesus’ love and forgiveness.

This really is the crux of the issue. The reason why Christians don’t involve themselves in Evangelism is because they won’t be popular or be able to get good jobs and large salaries and buy the world’s toys. They won’t be able to buy new cars. They won’t be popular with their fellow Christians. Jesus said,

"For whoever wishes to save his soul shall lose it; but whoever loses his soul for My sake shall find it. For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matt 16:25-26)

This is also why spiritual leaders in our country are not upholding the literal teaching of Scripture. They are mixing the Bible with the teaching of evolution because to uphold a literal Bible is to be laughed at and ridiculed. If they teach that Genesis is literally true, they won’t be able to get the support they want for their "world ministries," they won’t be able to succeed or have the acceptance of men. This is something I have never understood. Many of my associates don’t understand why I am not willing to give in to some of these things. I explain to them in response,

"God did not call me to be popular or successful, but to share the truth of the Gospel. He did not call me to be popular but to be His spokesman, to preach the truth regardless of the consequences to myself."

God said to Jeremiah after complaining about his lack of success and popularity with men,

"Therefore, thus says Yehovah, ‘If you return, then I will restore you—Before Me you will stand; And if you extract the precious from the worthless, You will become My spokesman. They for their part may turn to you, But as for you, you must not turn to them. Then I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; and though they fight against you, they will not prevail over you; for I am with you to save you and deliver you,’ declares Yehovah." (Jeremiah 15:19-20)

Who are the "they" God was talking about? Jeremiah's fellow believers in Yehovah.

Those who compromise the literal teaching of Scripture for the sake of success and money and popularity are no longer serving Jesus, but their own selfish self-centered interests, not those of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote,

"For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10)

For those Christians who choose the world and for those spiritual leaders who sell out the word of God for the sake of money, acceptance and success, the Apostle Paul has a message for you,

"For many walk of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Phil 3:18-20)

But for those Christians who believe God’s Word, that heaven is more real than this earth and as a result give Jesus their free time for the sharing of the Gospel with men, what does God promise for them because of their faithfulness to Him and His Word and their faithfulness in their use of their free time to share the Gospel with men? Jesus said,

"Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life." (Mark 10:29-30)

If you haven’t given your free time to share the Gospel with others, you are saying to Christians and to the lost that these words of Jesus are a lie. If you are giving Your life to the preaching of the Gospel, you are telling your fellow Christians and the lost that these words of Jesus are true. This is what James was talking about in the book of James when he wrote,

"Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, ‘You have faith, and I have works: show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.’" (James 2:17-18)

What does it mean to Preach the Gospel? Does it mean going out and grabbing people by the collar and trying to force them to listen to and respond to the message of the Gospel? No. Preaching the Gospel is simply explaining to a person what it means to be a Christian and how to become one. If you accomplish that, you have had a successful time of Evangelism whether the person receives Jesus Christ or not. Why? Because then when he or she is ready to receive Jesus Christ, they will then know what to do.

If You remember from Chapter 2 of this section we shared about what are the three ingredients of Christian Conversion:

1. The Word of God.

2. The Work of the Holy Spirit.

3. And the will of the individual.

I am a Charismatic Christian and what this textbook is all about is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and how to walk, be filled and Baptized in the Holy Spirit and operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit; but often times Christians are confused about what it means to be led of the Holy Spirit and how this relates to Evangelism. When a Christian tells me he believes in being led of the Holy Spirit in Evangelism, I explain to him that the Holy Spirit leads us by what we know and that that is the reason Jesus wants us to make a decision to take time in our weeks to go out and share the Word of God with lost humanity, that that is our part in Evangelism, sharing the word of God with men. Once we have done this, the Holy Spirit is then free to do His work which is to convict, quicken, bring to remembrance and convince the hearer of the truthfulness of the message and his or her need to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

When in obedience to Jesus Word we go out and share the Love of Jesus Christ with others, we are walking in obedience to God and the leading of His Holy Spirit, for the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of the Bible to encourage Christians to go out and share the love of Jesus Christ with others. The Apostle Peter wrote,

When we Obey Jesus’ commands to us in His Word, we are being led of the Holy Spirit and walking in the Holy Spirit.

Often times Christians will not get involved in Evangelism unless they can be guaranteed immediate results. But as we can see from the discussion above there is a lot more involved to bringing a person to Christ than just sharing the simple Gospel and praying with them to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. There is planting the seed, watering, fertilizing, weeding and then at the end of the season, the harvest comes.

Often times on the field when sharing the Evangelism Tract with Christians, I will run into someone who will tell me that he believes in predestination, that God has already determined those who will be saved and those who will be lost, that there doing anything about it evangelistically will make no difference concerning the outcome. How do I respond to this? I explain to them what the Apostle John tells us knowing Jesus means. The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 2:3-4,

"By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."