|
|
|
Topical Scriptures (Please subtract 30% from the total amount of your Donation before making Donation) 1 Corinthians 9:11 |
Back to: Evangelism? Or Predestination
What It Will Take If this life is the most important thing to you, then are you really a follower of Jesus? Do you really believe? Brothers and sisters, forgive me if you think my words are strong. When I started updating this textbook for the fifth time, the one thing the Lord said to me was to not hold anything back. He said to me that this is not a time to be soft. The lines are being drawn, evil is rapidly taking control of our world and that the opportunity to share our faith freely is coming to an end. Jesus said in John 9:4, "We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no man can work." Yehovah said through Jeremiah in Jeremiah 48:10, "Cursed is he who does Yehovah’s work negligently ( hYmr, carlessly, inattentively), and cursed is he who restrains his sword from blood." We say we believe that Jesus is coming soon. If you really believe that, this is not a time to be squeamish or soft. It is a time to get aggressive and serious about the Gospel and sharing it with lost humanity because Jesus’ return for them will be their damnation.My message is not a popular message among Christians in America. This is because Christians in America don't want to sacrifice anything to bring another person to Jesus. They want to live a costless Christianity. This is not possible if we want to bring others to Jesus. This is what Jesus was talking about in Luke 18:8 when He said, However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? When Jesus comes back, will he find a Church in America putting their trust in Him for their present needs and investing in the Kingdom of God? Or will he find a Church with no faith in the life to come at all and instead investing and putting their trust in a bankrupt world system? Brothers and sisters, there is no such thing as a safe and costless Christianity. In order to truly walk with Jesus and consistently share Jesus with others, it is going to cost you something, everything in many cases. Brothers and sisters, if we are to turn America around, it is not going to happened without it costing You and I something. Sharing the love of Jesus Christ with another human being is the most loving thing you can do for another human being; but if it has not cost you something you have not loved anyone. If you have never been hurt, you have never loved anybody. You cannot love without it costing you something and eventually being hurt in the process. Brothers and sisters, I implore You in the name of Jesus Christ, give your lives and your time and your resources to the sharing of the Gospel with others. Let me tell you how I live my life: I work at a regular forty-hour a week job. When I come home at night I have a Quiet Time in the Word with Jesus. I then spend a half hour in prayer. I next study the New Testament in Greek, Christology and Apologetics. I then eat. For the next three hours I write Christian literature, like I am doing right now, mainly for Evangelism and reaching the lost with the Gospel and for training and encouraging Christians to reach others with the Gospel. I go to bed and get up at 5:00 A.M. and spend a half hour in prayer seeking the Father to draw me close to Him, to make me one with Him, for Him to reveal his heart, mind and emotions to me. It was during this time one morning the Father told me to write the content of this chapter. I then spend another half hour studying Christian apologetics for the defense of the Gospel. I then go to work. Friday nights I relax and play, but on the weekends I spend my mornings again studying and writing on the Gospel and my afternoons out on the streets, malls, beaches, etcetera sharing the Gospel with anyone who will listen to what I have to say. I come home and work some more on my Christian writings. I eat, study, write and go to bed. Sunday afternoon I again go out somewhere and find someone to share the Gospel with. I relax the rest of Sunday, have my Quiet Time with Jesus, relax and go to bed and start my weekly routine all over again. Jesus said, "DO NOT lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matt 6:19-21). You see brothers and sisters, I do believe that Heaven is more real than earth and for this reason have committed every resource that I have and every dime and free waking moment of my life to the investment and preaching of the Gospel to men. I do this because I also believe that there is an eternal hell and that men without Jesus, will go to hell forever. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 1:9, "And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power." Hell is just as real and eternal as Heaven. Hell is more real than this earth because the earth will pass away. Hell is forever. Men on this earth without Jesus will spend eternity in Hell. Brothers and Sisters, Heaven is more real and a million times more glorious and more fulfilling than anything this life has to offer. How do I know this is true? Because Jesus came back from the dead to prove to us it is true. When you get to Heaven you can then have your expensive vacations, Porsches, beautiful mansions, etcetera; but right now, Jesus needs you to invest in Heaven by giving your life, time and resources to the preaching of the Gospel to men. Until you do, America will not turn back to God, but will instead continue on its pagan path and eventually will take the step of eradicating Christians completely from America in order to live with themselves and their selfish self-centered pagan life-styles. How do I know? Because They are already doing it in the job market. You can get involved in the battle now or suffer later without reward. Jesus tells us that if we do not get involved in this battle of the souls of men we will be overcome by the battle. Jesus said, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls." (Luke 11:17). We will be overcome by the things of this life, by the security of jobs, by the worries and the riches of this life. To stay involved in the battle you must stay involved in the battle. Only those who stay involved in the battle will keep their priorities of life straight and stay involved in the battle. This is what Jesus was talking about when He said you cannot serve God and man. You cannot have one foot in the world and be true to Jesus at the same time. Either Your allegiance is to Him or it is not. There is no middle ground in the economy of God's kingdom. What happens to Christians and Churches whose main focus is not Evangelism? They focus instead on non-fruitful doctrines and sit around convincing themselves and each other that they are better than those guys over at the other Church because they believe this doctrine or that doctrine (Nausea and Barf!). What happens to Christians and Churches whose focus is Evangelism? Their concerns and priorities become, Jesus, please show me how to help this man and woman see that you are the answer to their needs. Jesus, please show me what your Word teaches on this subject that is blocking this man and woman from releasing their faith in You. Instead of your focus being some issue or doctrine to convince other Christians you are better than them, instead your focus is Jesus, what can I do or say that will release this person's faith in You so he or she will give her life to You? The Apostle Paul wrote about His life, "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, in order that I may finish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the Gospel of the grace of God." (Acts 20:24). Love is a decision of the will, not a feeling. Jesus did not say, Oh boy! I get to go to the cross and suffer and die for people who want nothing to do with Me! Jesus made a decision of his will against his feelings to obey His Father and suffer and die for us. He did this because He knew it was the only way to bring us back to Himself and deliver us from an eternal hell. The writer of Hebrews tells us about this act of love Jesus did for us, "Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb 12:2). While preparing to go to the cross, Luke wrote concerning Jesus in the Gospel of Luke 22:41-44, "And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, "Father if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Your will be done.’ Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground." Does this sound like Jesus was over joyed at the prospect of suffering and dying for us on the cross? No. Like any normal human being, his flesh and soul abhorred the prospect. But in obedience to the Father, Jesus went. He went because He was acting out of love, not feelings, for your and my salvation. The writer of Hebrews tells us, "In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation." (Heb 5:7-9). What does the Bible say about living for ourselves and focusing on ourselves. The Apostle Paul writes, "Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. 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 3:17-20). This earth is not our destiny. HEAVEN is! When you get to Heaven, then you can have your Porsch, houses, jewelry, vacations around the universe. But right now Jesus needs your help desperately to reach men and women with the saving message of the Gospel so that their eternity can also be Heaven instead of the eternal lake of fire. Pastor Richard Wurmbrand was a Jew before he became a Christian, who suffered as a Jew in prison during the second world war. After reading the New Testament and being strangely drawn to Christ, Pastor Wurmbrand said to Jesus, You'll never have me for a disciple, I want money, travel, pleasure. I have suffered enough. Yours is the way of the Cross, and even if it is the way of truth as well, I won't follow it. Jesus’ answer came back to him in the form of a plea: Come my way! Do not fear the Cross! You will find that it is the greatest of joys.11/13 He did decide to give his life to Jesus and follow him and eventually spent another fourteen years in imprisonment under communist rule because he refused to reject Jesus and his walk with him. Through the years Pastor Wurmbrand and his wife, Sabina, have been a support and encouragement to me through their books and monthly news letter titled, The Voice of the Martyrs.12 His books helped me to realize that my life was a picnic compared to the suffering and losses these people endured. In 1972 I went with a Christian singing group to Hawaii to suffer for Jesus (Ha! Ha!) and to preach the Gospel. We were there for thirty-one days. During the first two weeks it seemed to my friend Gene Wilson and I that many in our group were too easily distracted by the sights and activities of Hawaii. Thus our reason for being in Hawaii, to preach the Gospel, seemed to be blunted by these distractions. This concerned my Friend Gene and I. As a result, one night Gene and I got together and really poured out our heart to God in prayer asking Him to do something to awaken our group spiritually and bring us back to the place of complete commitment and focus for our reason for being in Hawaii which was to preach the Gospel and bring the lost to Jesus. One morning, soon after we prayed, I got on an elevator after eating breakfast to come back to my hotel room. As I got on, an elderly lady got on with me. I had my Bible with me because we had such a busy schedule that the only time I could find time for a quiet time was while I was eating breakfast at the restaurant. As we were going up, the elderly lady looked at me and asked me what the book was I had in my hand. I told her it was a Bible. Her response was, Oh! A Christian! Please! Come up to my room! At that point I did not know if I wanted to go up to her room, but it struck me that she looked familiar. I told her my name was Dale Kruse. She replied back, My name is Mrs Richard Wurmbrand. I could not believe my ears! She and Richard were passing through Hawaii on their way to the Philippines and had just happened to stay in the same Hotel we were in. I had the morning off and she and her husband were on their way to Marine Land. She asked me if I had ever met her husband. I said no but that I had been supporting their ministry for several years. She then asked me to come along. I then knew that the answer for our group was Pastor Wurmbrand himself. I asked him if he would come and speak to our group. He said he would. After he shared some of his experiences in communist prisons for his Christian faith the group was obviously moved and became sober. It took the suffering of a Christian brother to wake them up to what was and was not important and what their focus should be while we were their. From that day on everyone in the group was completely unified and committed in prayer and activity for one purpose: to bring men and woman to a saving knowledge of their Savior and Lord which cost them nothing more than walking across the street and asking anyone permission to share their faith with them. When Communist Russia was handed Rumania by Churchill and Truman, Wurmbrand tells the following story in his book In God's Underground, "In 1945 a Congress of Cults was called in the Rumanian Parliament building, with 4,000 representatives of the clergy filling the seats. Bishops, Priests, Pastors, Rabbis, Mullahs applauded as it was announced that Comrade Stalin (whose vast picture hung on the wall) was patron of the congress—they preferred not to remember that he was at the same time president of the World Atheist's Organization. The trembling old Patriarch Nicodim blessed the assembly and the Prime Minister, Groza, opened it. He told us that he was a priest's son himself, and his lavish promises of support, echoed by other personages who followed him, were appreciatively cheered.
|