Hell and the Handbasket (repost)

Just thought I would repost this one.

What is a handbasket anyway? (For those that don't know me that was a rhetorical question.) One thing is for certain, that all the good statistics are going down and all the bad ones going up. C.T. Studd stated, "Some wish to live within the sound of a chapel bell; I wish to run a rescue mission within a yard of hell." So if the world is going to hell in a handbasket, than lets climb in it as start tossing the world out.

There is no doubt that in most cases unbelievers are not lining up to fill our pews (or chairs for post moderns). I have read that in Charles Spurgeon's church that he would have to actually ask his members to leave so the the people lined up on the outside of their church (unbelievers) could come into the church. So what do we do? Maybe we simply do what Jesus did.
Jesus went. Jesus fished. Jesus forgave. Jesus healed. In John 20 Jesus tells us that He is sending us the same way the Father sent Him.

The church has almost gotten to the place that its us against them. Home team verses the visiting team. Shirts against the skins. Well, you get the idea. Jesus again tells in John 4:35, "You know the saying, 'Four months between planting and harvest.' But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest."

We must go and give repentance. John 20:23 in the NIV states, "If you forgive anyone his sins (remitted{KJV}), they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven (retained {KJV}).

This is not saying that we have the power to forgive or not forgive the sins of others. Only God can do that. If I may submit a sidebar here: when it comes to our relationships with one another we must give and recieve forgiveness. What this verse is saying is that we are the ones that are to go out and tell people that there is forgiveness for their sins. If they believe they will be forgiven. If they don’t believe they will not be forgiven.

It simply comes down to the simply definition of evangelism. As D.T. Niles said, "Evangelism is just one beggar tell another beggar where to find bread." The only difference between us and the lost is that we believed. We believed and our sins were forgiven.

Luke 19:1-10 NIV19Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'"
8But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."
9Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Just as Zacchaeus was in that seek-him-more tree, we are surrounded by people in that same tree. The fact of the matter is that they might here the message of redemption unless we give it and live it. There are people in that seek-him-more tree all around us. As a matter of fact, we are surrounded by a forest of 250,000,000 people who do not attend church regularly. What we have to realize is that they are seeking, they don't know what they are seeking for, and we have the answer through Jesus Christ.

I love verse 10, "For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost."
That is what Jesus did. He went!Ezekiel 34:16, I will search for the lost and bring back the strays.Matthew 1:21, he will save his people from their sins.Matthew 9:13, I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.Matthew 18:11, For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.Luke 5:32, I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.1 Timothy 1:15, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

It is our privilege to have world evangelism as a passion, not our responsibility to have as a burden. –Mary Nordstrom

Next time your at the check out counter keep an eye out for who is in that tree. Next time filling up with gas, look around. Next time your eating out, actually leave a good tip, and ask where your server goes to church. We are surround by them. Let's open our eyes to the harvest field, and let's go like Jesus did.

I will end with a quote from Paul Harvey, "Too many Christians are no longer fishers of men, but keepers of the aquarium."

An update...

Just wanted to do an update. If your interest is personal evangelism, hang in there I will make some posts this week.

This weekend was our youth convention. We call it The Awakening. It was awesome. It is one of the best we have ever had. I hated to see it end. Sure make me look forward to what God will do next year.

We hade about 20 more sign up to be Campus Missionaries. That brings our total to about 170 in our district. How awesome is that? To have 170 students in their schools living it out loud to their friends. 170 students praying for their school, 170 students serving and giving at their school. That's awesome. Many people think that this world is going to hell and a hand basket. (I have a post about that.) But I think things are ripe for an awakening.

Lord, let it come through our young people.

Right to Share the Gospel

There is a thought in the Christian circles that we have to earn the right to share the gospel with people. That we have to do things to win friendships for the gosple to be recieved. I believe that some of this is true. I believe build all the relationship we can.

Paul said that he become all things to all men that some might be saved. Jesus went to the house of Zacchaeus' house. We read many examples and have heard many sermons.

Let us not lose focus on what Jesus commanded us. He said, "go into all the world". Paul wrote, "how can they hear without someone preaching to them." The Word is a double edged sword. Jesus said, "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." What gives us the right to share the gospel is that Jesus commanded us to do so. What gives us the right to share the gospel is Jesus gave His life for the lost, and he deserves the the reward of His suffering.

Build relationships, yes. Just remember to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and don't be intimated to preach the gospel.

Romans 1:16
"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." (NIV)