“After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:21-22 NLT)
The last couple of days we’ve looked at our need to be concerned about the vast number of lost people the Lord has “assigned” us to reach, but today I’d like to share a few ideas as to how we can reach them. But before we go there, I must first address the reason I used the term “assigned.” When the Lord called Paul, He allowed him insight into how He would use him. Verse 15 gives us our first clue: “But the Lord said, ‘Go, for Saul is My chosen instrument to take My message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.’”
Why did Paul travel so much in his ministry? Because that’s where the Lord led him to reach his chosen audiences. Why will the Lord lead you into your school, vocation, area of interest, place of employment, person to marry, where to live and on and on it goes? We all travel; it’s just a matter of how large a radius the Lord wants us to reach. So, once He “plants” us, where do we go from there?
As I review the process in my own life, though I realize it could be quite different than the way you came to the Lord, hopefully, we’ll see some commonalities and discover some helpful tools in reaching those who are lost in our spheres of influence. My journey began in West Virginia, but led me to Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Florida, Texas, and now Nevada.
What have I found in all those locations? Lost people! Some hungry and ready to receive the Lord and some angry, hurt, discouraged, disillusioned, in short, not ready to receive the Lord, but still very much on my radar and in my “mission field.” So, how did I reach out to them?
What did Paul do? He went into an area and made friends. How did he do that? He went to where the people were – the Synagogues because he was Jewish (they didn’t have any churches until Paul started them) and to the cities where people gathered. He spent time building relationships and, as with all of us, some people liked him and responded to his message and ministry, and some didn’t.
With whom in your church, neighborhood, workplace, school, gym, club, can you meet and build a relationship? Do you know what nearly every person you meet has in common? They know other people! We want to reach a city, a nation, a world, which well we should, but do you know how we will do that? One saved person at a time.
The first step in building an effective evangelistic outreach is making a difference in one person’s life. Who will it be for you? Maybe you already know a lot of lost people, but you’re likely not going to be able to reach them all at the same time. Can you focus on one or two and get them engaged in spiritual conversations? Do you know how to lead them to the Lord through a simple straightforward Gospel presentation?
My sense is, many reading these articles are well equipped to lead someone to the Lord, but for the benefit of maybe even the few who don’t, tomorrow I will run down some basic Scriptures and thoughts to guide someone to a decision for the Lord, realizing some will respond positively and open their heart to the Lord and some will not. We’ll say more about this in tomorrow’s article.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 