November 8
Jail, prison, and street ministry are my calling. I am an evangelist who loves going into lockup facilities and talking to men about Jesus. I was a street cop in a pretty tough neighborhood for approximately 12 years, so most criminal types don’t intimidate me. And I don’t usually shy away from preaching the gospel even to those who do. It’s so powerful. It turns gruff, men, the size of mountains into doves in an instant of time. It is literally true, hells angels become timid and shy when confronted with the gospel. There are many examples of that happening in scripture. If we understand most evil men are, in fact, more often than not actually and physically possessed by demons of hell, we understand that the name of Jesus causes them to flee when spoken to by one of his saints who are filled with His spirit.
Ezekiel 3 and 33 make it clear he was responsible to tell the evil man his evil was going to end him an unpleasant place for eternity if he didn’t repent of his evil deeds. Ezekiel was told he would be held accountable if he failed to preach the gospel to the lost. It seems Paul believed he had the same responsibility (I Cor. 9:17). Most certainly, one called to be an evangelist is bound by the very nature of the gift to preach the gospel at every opportunity. I would like to suggest however, that all believers are accountable to share their personal testimony and be ready at any given time to help a lost soul know how he/she can be found. Every true, God loving, born-again, neighbor loving, faithful child of the king needs to be ready at a moment’s notice to lead a person through the necessary biblical admonitions that will enable them to make an intelligent choice as to whether they wish to confess Jesus as Lord.
One thing I believe it behooves us to do is to stop asking people if they are saved or if they are Christians. Great multitudes in this country think they are Christians if they aren’t anything other religion. And asking someone if they’re saved is like asking someone if he wants grasshoppers or snails for desert. I make it a point to begin discussions on salvation with questions like, “Do you ever think about where you’re going to go when you die?” Almost everyone has, and that question really does get the conversation on the gospel quickly and without usually shutting down the conversation. I have used it for over 30 years and can’t remember when it has ever been a conversation ender. Even many people who truly think they are Christians often can’t say for sure they are headed of eternity in the kingdom of God.
I love discussing future things so I often ask people if they have ever heard of a period of time the Bible calls the tribulation. The book of Revelation is the most exquisite presentation of the gospel found in the entire word of God in my humble opinion. It is the encapsulation of the past, present, and future of the world in 22 short chapters. It begins presenting the triune God, then moves to focus on the Christ, then moves to the churches, then it moves to a seven year period of hell on earth when God will be judging those who dwell on earth for over 6,000 years of rebellion against His revealed will. It ends with the announcement of judgment on the lost, glory for the saved, the new heavens and earth being brought in, and the eternal kingdom of God described. It clearly delineates who those are who will be judged at the Great White Throne (unbelievers), and why. Once again, I would like to humbly suggest that is the most succinct presentation one can find in God’s word. Of course, it is difficult to beat Peter’s two sermons which led to the conversion of 5000 plus, and Stephen’s one sermon that led to his being stoned.
Our point for today is that we all need to be ready to give an account of the hope that is in us (salvation), as instructed in I Peter 3:15. It is most unfortunate, in my humble opinion, that tens of thousands who claim to be followers of Christ are too entangled in the affairs of this life to be seeking opportunities to share the gospel with a lost soul. I remember when I first got saved, I used to go to coffee shops late at night and sit at the counter reading my bible just hoping someone would ask me what I was doing. If no one did, I made sure to start a conversation with the person sitting closest to me just so I could get the topic on salvation. At first, all I knew for sure was how I got saved, so I shared my personal testimony. As I grew in the knowledge of God’s word, I used scripture so the Holy Spirit could convict them of the truth.
The most difficult times in my entire life as a believer have been the times when I didn’t have daily opportunities to preach the gospel to someone. Right now is one of those times, so if you’re reading this I would appreciate your prayers. I’m retired and spending massive amounts of time writing and putting a reading of the entire bible on MP3 format so I can distribute them. Those two activities are keeping me from daily contact with the lost (accept for FaceBook). They are important, so I am focused on them for now. I will close today’s devotional with this thought, Each of us should determine we are not going to enter into eternity alone. We should be determined to take as many with us as we can possibly take. And that’s God’s word for us today.
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