It's NOT Evangelism...

Please people. Don't listen to ME. Listen to scripture, for THAT is where this conviction comes from. It's not just some personal heartfelt need or urge or whatever to speak to people about eternal truths. Though God can and will build up in you a fervor for the souls of your neighbors, friends, family and complete strangers.

There IS a gift of evangelism. That is most definitely NOT what I'm speaking of. This is NOT what I've been gifted with by any means.

Everyone has an individual calling. This is most definitely NOT what I'm speaking of either.

Spreading the Gospel, sharing it individually as commanded and as done by example of Jesus and the Apostles...
There are TWO things here that you can't deny or rationalize out of...

1 - The command to go and preach the Gospel to all creatures...and the example of doing it.
2 - To do what Jesus did as evidence of our salvation.

If you can refute this based on scripture then have at it, I'll listen to you, I'll engage you in discussion with it. But don't excuse what is soundly based on scripture with things that we've ALL been taught by a touchy feely, "seeker friendly" church that has told us it's not our job to speak the truth boldly from our mouths. That teaches us that we must be friendly and accommodating, and never bold and direct in speaking about sin, the Ten Commandments, judgment, hell...and THEN about the cross, grace, repentance, faith and weighing the cost of following Jesus Christ - all with GREAT love, passion and compassion!

Do you know that it was so huge a concern for Paul (the salvation of others) that he would have given up is own salvation to have but saved a few others??? And this wasn't because he was a Pastor, or an evangelist, not even because he was an Apostle. It was because he was a Christian - because he had an eternal hope that rested within his heart and he desired that none shall perish.

Romans 9:1-4 1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit—
2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel.

It took ME quite some time to come to grips with this foundational truth. It is convicting, it makes you look into the mirror and see where your heart truly is, where your treasures are being stored up. It took me 22 years as a lukewarm Christian "pew warmer"...and then once this started to convict me - it took a year of hard core wrestling before I let the truth convict me to action. Again, I plead with you. Don't listen to ME. Examine the Gospels. Let the actions and words of Jesus and the Apostles speak the truth into your hearts and lives.

Have you heard the phrase..."Learn by the mistakes of others?" Well, I'm reaching out here with an appeal. Listen. Read and study what I've referred to here. Take it through the filter of scripture and see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

It scares the crap out of me still...and it should for the rest of my life to step out in obedience and share with a complete stranger. But...I'm becoming more comfortable with it. Not because I'm gifted in any special way, but because I've sought to LEARN about it, how Jesus witnessed. I've sought to practice it by putting it into PRACTICE.

Anything you do in life...as a human being. Earning money at your job...did you not get training? Do you not practice your trade every day? How much more eternally valuable is this wonderful thing we GET to do this side of heaven? We get to give people tickets to heaven! It's up to them and the Holy Spirit if they want to cash it in...but if we don't at least offer it to them they'll never have the ticket to consider in the first place!

Most Pastors will tell you and certainly the majority (statistically speaking) Americans believe they are Christians because they attend church and at one time "accepted Jesus" into their hearts. This is not biblical. Salvation is not a one time "vaccination" of sorts. For we are to examine ourselves DAILY to see if we are in the faith, to daily work out our salvation with fear and trembling to see if we "pass the test" so to speak.

Sometimes...things are hard to listen to because they're simply not sound, not founded in truth and our discernment will raise the red flag, that should guide us to scripture to expose the falsehood.

Sometimes...things are hard to listen to because they are convicting, exposing us to things in our own hearts that need attention.

I was asked by someone..."But here is an interesting question: Will people remember what you did for the cause of Christ 500 years after you die???"

Here on earth? No.

In heaven? Sure they will! Do you not think that people will thank you in heaven for giving them a ticket to heaven? That it will indeed be part of the eternal celebration? Don't you want to share the beauty and eternity of heaven with as many people as possible?

Even in hell...people will remember, and I'm pretty sure will at least be thankful that you at one time gave them a fighting chance, that you at least offered them a ticket even if their pride got in their way of cashing it in. Remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus...even sitting there burning up in hell, the rich man believed and pleaded with Abraham to please send someone to his house to at least offer his family tickets to heaven before they perished!

Luke 19:27-28 He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.”

EVERY person that you talk to, EVERY person that you know, EVERY stranger that you cross paths with desperately needs to hear the truth of the Gospel. There's no gift of personal witness, it's not a calling. It's a matter of obedience or disobedience. Even if it were NOT a matter of obedience or disobedience...it would still be a matter of love and concern.

For how much do you really love and care for and are concerned for the eternal destiny of the lost in the world? Would you hold your mouth shut in abject lack of love and a lack of concern for them as they walk their way to the edge of the cliff of eternal separation from God, eternal punishment?