Hi everyone, I am now blogging at www.goforsouls.com/blog. I have had that site for a while now but have never been able to find a way to blog from it. But now I have! Keep an eye open as theres going to be some great posts coming up talking about the recent GFS at the Factory and some teaching on Power Evangelism!
Have you ever heard something so rediculous, something so horrible, something that you stand so hard against that you utter in sheer desperation and determination, “Over my dead body!” I read a quote today by Charles Spurgeon that says that very thing,
“If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one GO there UNWARNED and UNPRAYED for.”
I love his heart for the lost. Here we see that the knowledge of the reality of hell is so real it creates such a burden in Spurgeons heart that he says, “Over my dead body!” If people I know and love are going to go to hell, it will be over my dead body. I will do all in my power to prevent people from going to hell! I will spend hours in the prayer closet, I will preach with my words, actions and tears! I will fast, I will sacrifice, I will do anything! I would rather die trying to save these people than allowing people them to simply drift into the pit of misery. Or as William Booth said,
“If I thought I could win one more soul to the Lord by walking on my head and playing the tambourine with my toes, I’d learn how!”
But heres the thing, Jesus Christ did say “over my dead body.” He was nailed upon the cross and died for our sins. And Hallelujah, He rose again three days later! He now offers all people hope and salvation, if only they would turn to Him and be saved. Lets join in with the greats of the Christian faith and say “Over my dead body!”
Jesus, thank you that you died and rose again to save us! It is becasue you put your body on the line that we can be saved. Now, I devote my life to putting my body on the line so that others may come to know your love and salvation!
The Apostle Paul was running around the countryside preaching the gospel to both the Jews and Gentiles. He was having great success, and many Gentiles were turning from their sin and following Jesus. When the Church Council met to debate the issue of Gentile Salvation they agreed that this was part of Gods plan of Salvation. But as they sent Paul back to report the findings they added that, “they should remember the poor.” (Galatians 2)
Today I did some remembering of the poor as I prepared for a talk Sarah and I had to give today. I spent a number of years growing up in Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world. This had a significant impact upon me and has obviously informed my world view. As I looked at some photos a flood of memories came running back to me. You may not see it at first, but there is a young boy lieing in the rubbish in the picture to the left. This horrible poverty was a part of my every day life.
God has reminded me that it doesn’t matter how much we are preaching, who we are preaching to, or how effective we are, we must take heed to the apostels words to “remember the poor.” Preaching the gospel is important, but if we are to live trully sancitified lives, we cannot forget the poor. The same motivation for preaching is the same motivation for helping the poor. Its love. So, like Paul, we must continue to preach the gospel to whoever we can, but we must never forget the poor. We must preach the gospel and help the poor.
Lord, thankyou that you remember the poor. Please forgive me for not remembering the poor as you would have me do. I choose from now on to remember the poor and preach the gospel, both motivated by your love. Amen
Pakistan are undergoing one of the worst natural disasters in history and they urgently need our help!
20 Million people are now homeless! (Australia has a population of around 23 million!!!)
Death toll of 1,500 is sure to rise as water, food, and accomodation issues worsen BUT…
Going by the numbers of people affected, the disaster is worse than the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake combined, the U.N. says. But international aid for those disasters came at a more rapid pace, aid experts say.
Ten days after the Kashmir quake, donors gave or pledged $292 million, according to the aid group Oxfam. The Jan. 12 disaster in Haiti led to pledges nearing $1 billion within the first 10 days.
For Pakistan, the international community gave or pledged $150 million after the flooding began in earnest in late July, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA.
U.N. officials on Wednesday launched a formal appeal for $460 million for immediate relief and have said the country will need billions more to rebuild after the floodwaters recede.
OCHA spokesman Nicholas Reader said that of the $310 million still needed, the U.N. received $93 million with an additional $32 million pledged.( See the full article here)
So we need to donate and pray.
Click here to DONATE to The Salvation Army Pakistan floods appeal.
Thank you God that you are the wonderful counsellor. Please comfort the nation of Pakistan in this time. Please move peoples hearts around the world to give generously, and help in the aid dispatching and the rebuilding phases that will come.
Charles Finney wrote this in a booklet calle,d “How to promote a revival.” When He speaks of breaking up the fallow ground he is speaking of calling people to repentance by preaching the law… Check out the full article here but read the following and ask yourslef if you are willing to break up the fallow ground. ..
1. It will do no good to preach to you while your hearts are in this hardened, and waste, and fallow state. The farmer might just as well sow his grain on the rock. It will bring forth no fruit. This is the reason why there are so many fruitless professors in the church, and why there is so much outside machinery, and so little deep-toned feeling in the church. Look at the Sabbath-school for instance, and see how much machinery there is, and how little of the power of godliness. If you go on in this way, the word of God will continue to harden you, and you will grow worse and worse, just as the rain and snow on an old fallow field makes the turf thicker, and the clods stronger.
2. See why so much preaching is wasted, and worse than wasted. It is because the church will not break up their fallow ground. A preacher may wear out his life, and do very little good, while there are so many stony-ground hearers, who have never had their fallow ground broken up. They are only half converted, and their religion is rather a change of opinion than a change of the feeling of their hearts. There is mechanical religion enough, but very little that looks like deep heart-work.
3. Professors of religion should never satisfy themselves, or expect a revival, just by starting out of their slumbers, and blustering about, and making a noise, and talking to sinners. They must get their fallow ground broken up. It is utterly unphilosophical to think of getting engaged in religion in this way. If your fallow ground is broken up, then the way to get more feeling, is to go out and see sinners on the road to hell, and talk to them, and guide inquiring souls, and you will get more feeling. You may get into an excitement without this breaking up; you may show a kind of zeal, but it will not last long, and it will not take hold of sinners, unless your hearts are broken up. The reason is, that you go about it mechanically, and have not broken up your fallow ground.
4. And now, finally, will you break up your fallow ground? Will you enter upon the course now pointed out, and persevere till you are thoroughly awake? If you fail here, if you do not do this, and get prepared, you can go no further with me in this course of lectures. I have gone with you as far as it is of any use to go, until your fallow ground is broken up. Now, you must make thorough work upon this point, or all I have further to say will do you little good. Nay, it will only harden and make you worse. If, when next Friday night arrives, it finds you with unbroken hearts, you need not expect to be benefited by what I shall say. If you do not set about this work immediately, I shall take it for granted that you do not mean to be revived, that you have forsaken your minister, and mean to let him go up to battle alone. If you do not do this, I charge you with having forsaken Christ, with refusing to repent and do your first work. But if you will be prepared to enter upon the work, I propose, God willing, next Friday evening, to lead you into the work of saving sinners.
“I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls!” – 2 Corinthians 12:15
William Booth asked his soldiers to ask themselves a number of questions to make sure they were keeping right with God. One that sticks out is number six, it says, “Am I doing all in my power for the salvation of sinners? Do I feel concern about their danger and pray and work for their salvation as if they were my children?”
Here we see the spirit of Salvationism. The Spirit is the same spirit that the Apostle Paul had when he said he would spend and be spent for others souls. So many of us spend and be spent to get something in return for ourselves. Often its money, respect, power, friends, fun and so on. But the Bible reminds us that we are to spend and be spent for others. Ask yourself these questions today, “Are you spending all you have on the salvation of souls? Is your life spent on the salvation of souls?”
Jesus, thank you for great examples of people who have spent all that they had on souls. Help us to live in a way that we would love people so much that we spend our life on them. Let us be spent on caring for people and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. Amen
The One Word Sermon: The Powerful Gospel
Posted: August 9, 2010 in Evangelism, Fun, Supernatural, Testimony, The GospelA few days ago I wrote “REPENT” in the dust in the back of my car. I thought it might be funny and might make people think, but I never expected what happened this afternoon. As I hopped out of the car with a few friends one of them asked what “REPENT” meant. So I told him it meant to turn around, and I said in this case it means turn away from sin and turn towards God. I then asked if he had ever done this, and over the next few hours in between Football highlights of Port Powers 2004 Premiership, we discussed what repenting looked like. Then came the crunch, “Do you want to repent and believe?” And he said yes! Hallelujah!
It is so easy to forget that the gospel is not necessary our words. We forget that the word of God is powerful, more powerful than any other book, words or letters in the alphabet. The church has forgotten that the word of God is supernatural and cuts deep into peoples hearts. So as you go about your day today or tomorrow, (depending when you read this) do not forget that the word of God is alive, sharp, and the power of God to save!
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” – Matthew 4:17
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. – Hebrews 4:12
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. Romans 1:16
If you know the Brengle VS Coutts arguement you may appreciate this question… Q) Why is the Brengle Institute* not called the Coutts Institute? A) Because if we were going to the Coutts one we would never actually get there! We would spend our whole lives just journeying towards the institute! (I know, I am overstating Coutts a little bit here…)
Seriously though, there is a lesson here. If you were picked to go to this holiness institute, would you want to get to the institute or would you be content to journey towards it the whole time? I dont think there would be many people who would not want to finally get there. No one would be content with being invited to attend but never actually getting there. Being invited is good, but attending is even better, the invitation makes us feel good, but experienceing the institute is better. It is more fulfilling, rewarding, and a much better use of your time.
This directly applies to us today. We have all been invited to experience the sanctified life. Jesus has offered it to us, the Bible is extremely clear that God wants to make us holy. So do you want to experience it or are you content in just ‘journeying’ towards it, getting closer and closer all the time but never arriving?
Many would say ‘but we are always growing in our holiness.’ That is true, but even once you arrive at the institute, or once you are sanctified, there is still work to do. God still wants to change you, encourage you, and deepen your love. Once we experience sancitification we need to keep it. Thats something both Brengle and Coutts agree with, but you need to answer this question for yourself, “Are you content with the journey or are you willing to arrive?”
“For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.” – 1 Thess 4:7-8
http://www.goforsouls.com
http://www.get-saved.org
*Brengle Institute is a conference ran annually for teaching Officers holiness
I once heard someone testify that when he gave their heart to the Lord he was kneeling at the mercy seat in a Salvation Army hall. A person came and put their hand on their shoulder and offered to pray with them. The counsellor then informed him that he had to confess all his sin to Jesus. And so he did, one by one. As he did this the counsellor got up and walked away and the man kneeling at the mercy seat panicked thinking that he was taking too long. He thought to himself, “O dear,I must be adnormal, I must have more sin than anyone else!”
But we are reminded in the Scripture that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It doesnt matter how much you have sinned, or what specific sins they may be, although they may be different sins than mine, Jesus forgives them all! The message Jesus wants you to hear is the same for every person, “Turn away from your sin and follow me, and I will give you eternal life.”
Thank you Jesus that you died for all of our sin. I may be different to everyone else, but I am glad that the message of eternal life is the same for all of us. I confess I am a sinner. Please forgive me of all my sin. I choose to follow you and trust you in all I do. Thank you that you have saved me.
“We have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.” – 2 Corinthians 4:2
Have you ever heard an effective evangelist preach? I have and I was amazed at the simple message. I have friends who have heard Billy Graham, Reinhard Bonnke, Brother Yun (The Heavenly Man), Carlos Annacondia and others, and surpisingly they all had one thing in common: They preached a simple gospel.
As we look through history we will also see that great revivalists have preached a simple to understand gospel. Charles Finney was accused of being to rash with the word of God becasue he spoke to people in a conversational style. But the people could understand and boy, did they respond.
As Christians we do not need a fancy gospel to preach to people. We dont need to make things up, we dont need to improve the gospel, we dont need to change it at all. The gospel really is good news, and all we need to do is give people an opportunity to respond.
Lord, Thank you for the simple gospel that anyone can understand. Please help us know the gospel so well that we can explain it simply. Help us to preach the truth of God and not much around with it. We ask this in your name. Amen.
WOE TO ME IF I DO NOT PREACH THE GOSPEL 