Deception and Lost Souls
By: Jodi Lenker
Before Jodi began her message, she shared a song.
We can all relate to something sang in that song. We are called to share this message. We are called to expose deception and seek lost souls.
The first deception is that we think we are called to call out others sins to help them see that they need a Savior.
Romans 3:21-24
[21] But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. [22] This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, [23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
We usually start by looking at the 10 commandments. These sets of rules were given to help us live better lives.
Sometimes folks first need to know the law; they may not realize they have sin.
Some people might not even believe in hell, so they wouldn't even care to be saved from it.
Satan would love for us to come at nonbelievers aggressively, to create a fight or flight situation. You risk unbelievers running without hearing out what Jesus has to offer.
There is a Heaven and there is a hell… there is a choice that puts us one or the other.
We are all called to make Heaven crowded. The enemy's goal is to make hell crowded.
If we only point out people's sin, without pointing them to Jesus, we are missing it.
We can’t look at people’s sins, we must look at their souls.
John 3:16-17
[16] For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
If God didn't send His son to condemn the world, I bet He didn't send you.
How we share the Gospel is different, but how people need to hear the Gospel is different. Sometimes folks need bold; sometimes they need quiet.
We should all be showing God by our behavior.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
[1] And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. [2] For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. [3] I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. [4] My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, [5] so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
God will give you everything you need to reach others for Him, but the enemy will attack you and take away your confidence. The enemy makes us fear judgement.
It really doesn't need to take 30 minutes to teach the Gospel. We tend to over complicate things.
We might be called to simply plant seeds sometimes. We might not always see the harvest of the seeds we plant.
The Holy Spirit is a necessity when talking to Him and teaching others about Him and reaching lost souls.
Our job is to show the Savior to others and explain why we/they need Him and forgiveness.
Jesus did the work for ALL!
We must be aware of the deception.
The enemy is good at creating smoke screens. He is desperate to stop the effort of reaching lost souls because he already lost the war. Now he tries to win battles.
James 4:7-10
[7] Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [9] Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. [10] Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
When you know you can't lose, you're free. Lean on the Holy Spirit, and you cannot fail.
There is power in numbers. It's easier to talk to others about Jesus when we are surrounded by other believers.
As we press into God, we will feel a longing… no, a NEED, to speak about Jesus. Lost souls need to hear about Him.
