Soul-Winning Isn’t a Spectator Sport

 “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others."
– 2 Corinthians 5:11

When I was a student at Pacific Christian College in the mid-’90s, Steven was a student at the university across the street: Cal State Fullerton. But he wasn’t your average underclassman. For starters, Steven had a very interesting sense of style—rumpled clothing, scruffy hair, and thick eyeglasses that he repaired with duct tape when the frames broke. But there was something else unique about Steven. He was 40 years old and had been enrolled as a student at Cal State for more than 11 years, taking just one class a semester. Steven stretched out his time in college as long as possible—because he wasn’t there to get a degree. He was there to tell students about Jesus.

Every Friday at lunchtime, Steven wheeled a small portable grill onto the campus quad, where he grilled free hamburgers for students. He just had one rule: No burgers to go. If you took a free burger, you had to sit down and join him for lunch. And once you did, he’d tell you about Jesus.

I saw that Steven had a burden for lost souls, so I joined him one Friday and gave him a hand. And it took all of about 20 minutes for me to start criticizing his technique. His mannerisms were awkward. He came across a little pushy. And Stephen seemed ill-prepared to respond to students’ intellectual arguments against Christianity. I almost quit. He just wasn’t doing it right! But then I sensed the still, small voice of God speaking to my heart: “Dane, he is doing more to lead people to Me than you’ve EVER done. Shut up and help him.”

One of the greatest evangelists in American history was D.L. Moody. In the 1800s, he shared the gospel (in person or in writing) with at least one hundred million people. A man came up to Moody once and criticized him for the way he went about winning souls. Moody listened politely and then asked the man, “How would you do it?” The man struggled to answer Moody’s question … then admitted that he didn’t do it. Moody’s response was brilliant: “Well, I prefer the way I do it to the way you DON’T do it.”

Steven taught me a lot about being a soul winner for Jesus Christ. He taught me that it’s not about having the perfect words and methods, or even about having an ounce of fashion sense. It’s about having #1: A love for Jesus. #2: A heart for the lost, and #3: A willingness to obediently go and be used by God.

Some Christians may wonder why God doesn’t just take us up to heaven once we’ve made the saving decision to follow Jesus Christ. The answer is simple: We’ve got work to do! As the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5, we “would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (v.8). But God says, “No. Not…yet.” So, what do we do in the meantime? Paul answers in verse 9: “We make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” And according to verse 11, we please Him by trying to persuade others to accept Christ—to turn from death to life. If you love Jesus and you know that He loves the spiritually lost and dying people around you, His love compels you to act: “For Christ’s love compels us” (v. 14).

And if you love Jesus, certainly at some point you’ve desired to be a part of an important ministry for Jesus. Congratulations! You’ve been given one: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (v.18). It’s the ministry of bringing people with no purpose to the One who gives their life purpose. Bringing those who have no peace to the Prince of Peace. And bringing individuals who have no hope to the God of all hope: Jesus Christ.

Don’t buy into the lie from Satan that sharing your faith and leading those around you to Christ is some OTHER Christian’s business. It’s not. It’s YOUR business. Soulwinning isn’t a spectator sport. You can’t just be an enthusiastic cheerleader. Christ’s love compels you, it constrains you, it moves you to be His witness to the people around you.

I know that for many Christians, this seems SO daunting. So intimidating! So scary! “I’m an introvert. I’m not GOOD at striking up conversations with people. I don’t know what to say. What if I say something stupid? What if I mess it up and scare people away from Christ? What if my coworkers or neighbors laugh at me and I make a fool of myself?” Believe me, I get it. Like you, sometimes it scares me to share my faith. Sometimes, like you, I worry about saying something wrong. But then the Spirit of God speaks to my heart and asks, “What will happen if you DON’T tell them about Christ?” That’s a sobering thought. The consequences of NOT telling people about Jesus are far greater that the consequences of telling them and somehow failing.

You can’t just hope the people around you will come to Christ. You have to go tell them. You have to go invite them. As you’re living your life and going from place to place, you have to get out of your comfort zone and be used by God wherever you’re going. Like Isaiah, we must say to God: “Here I am! Send me!” 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person at 9 a.m., or online at 10 a.m. on YouTube or Facebook. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

How to Obey Jesus’ Marching Orders

 “Go and make disciples of all nations.” – Matthew 28:19

Recently I ran across this observation from one of my favorite Bible scholars, Warren Wiersbe: “In most churches, the congregation pays the pastor to preach, win the lost, and build up the saved—while the church members function as cheerleaders (if they are enthusiastic) or spectators. The ‘converts’ are won, baptized, and given the right hand of fellowship, then they join the other spectators.”

Is he right? When it comes to sharing the gospel message, are most Christians just spectators or, at best, cheerleaders? Yes! Why is that? Well, it’s not because it’s SUPPOSED to be that way. If you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ—aka, a “Christian”—God has called you to share the Gospel.

In Matthew 28, Jesus delivered one of the most important teachings in the Bible … and it’s one of the teachings most often ignored by Christians. He delivered this message after His resurrection, as part of His final marching orders to His followers. This vital teaching of Jesus is usually referred to as The Great Commission.

Jesus spoke to them on a mountain in Galilee, where He had spent most of his time during his three-year public ministry. But as the 11 apostles saw Him in the distance walking toward them, some were uncertain it was Jesus: “When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted” (v. 17). It may seem strange that any of the apostles would doubt Jesus at this point, since He had already appeared to them several times since His resurrection. But the Greek word that is translated here as “doubted” doesn’t refer to a fixed, lasting unbelief. Instead, it refers to a state of uncertainty and hesitation. At first some weren’t sure it was Him. But within a matter of minutes, their doubts were removed.

Now, think about your own family and friends. Some are a little slow to accept the truth about Jesus—but they’re not necessarily fixed and unmovable in their unbelief. They’re just uncertain and hesitant. Be patient with them, and keep trying to lead them to Jesus.

That’s what Jesus told them to do as he delivered the Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20a). That’s quite a list of instructions, but in the original Greek, the active command is to MAKE DISCIPLES. Here’s a more literal translation: “As you are going, disciple all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

Notice that Jesus doesn’t command us to “Go!” He assumes we’re already going. Jesus doesn’t say, “Carve out a day and time once or twice a year to leave the church building to tell people about Me.” He doesn’t say, “On Christmas and Easter make sure you invite someone to church.” And Jesus doesn’t say, “Every once in a while, flip your mental switch and start caring about the spiritually lost people around you.”

Jesus isn’t talking about squeezing something into your busy schedule. In fact, He hates it when you compartmentalize your Christianity and shove Him into a little box on Sunday mornings, or on Christmas or Easter. Jesus is talking about a way of life. AS you are going to work. AS you are going to WalMart. AS you are going out to eat. Wherever you are going, on whatever day you are going there … Make disciples of all nations. 

A disciple is defined as “a student; a learner; a follower.” Jesus isn’t interested in converts—that is to say, people who convert to Christianity just to grab some quick fire insurance to stay out of hell. Jesus isn’t interested in men and women who just give Him lip service. He’s interested in true, born-again disciples—men and women who have truly repented of their sin, gotten baptized and are learning to obey ALL of Jesus’ commands. Jesus isn’t just their Savior. He is truly their Lord.

Jesus commands us to make disciples. So, let me ask you: Are YOU making disciples? As you’re going about your daily routine, are you leading people to Jesus? Are you actively sharing your Christian faith with the people around you? Are you helping at all with new believers’ baptisms? Are you helping to teach Jesus’ commands to new Christians? If you’re not, you are being disobedient to your Lord. You are disobeying one of the most important commands He ever gave you.

Warren Wiersbe says it so well: “Christianity is a missionary faith. The very nature of God demands this, for God is love, and God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). Our Lord’s death on the cross was for the whole world. If we are the children of God and share His nature, then we will want to tell the good news to the lost world.”

Please, when it comes to winning souls for Christ, don’t just be a spectator. Don’t even settle for being an enthusiastic cheerleader. Be an obedient witness for Jesus Christ.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person at 9 a.m., or online at 10 a.m. on YouTube or Facebook. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

How to Lead Someone to Jesus

“Tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” –Luke 10:9

Back in 2002, Pastor Rick Warren published “The Purpose Driven Life,” one of the bestselling non-fiction books of all time. The book opens with one the best first sentence of any book I’ve ever read, and it’s just four words: “It’s not about you.” When you set out to figure out why God placed you on this earth, the first thing you need to understand is that it’s NOT about you. God created you, and if you’re a Christian, He saved you to bring Him glory … AND to lead the people around you to Christ.

Near the end of the book, Pastor Rick tells the story of what his dad said on his deathbed. Warren’s father had been a minister for over 50 years, and he loved to go overseas with teams of volunteers and build churches for small congregations. In the final week of his life, before he died of cancer, he spent most of his time in a semi-conscious state, reliving those church building projects. Warren writes that one night, his father kept trying to get out of bed, although he was too weak. Finally Warren’s wife asked him what he was trying to do. His response: “Got to save one more for Jesus!” He repeated the phrase over and over, probably 100 times in the course of an hour: “Got to save one more for Jesus!” 

Wow! That’s how I’d like to go. I want to have the chance to tell my family one last time that I love them, but I would love to have the opportunity to use my final breath to save one more soul for Jesus.

In Luke 10, Jesus shared a simple process for winning souls as he was preparing to send a team of his followers out into the world to share the gospel. He taught them these four powerful steps for leading people to Christ:

Step #1: PRAYER. “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house’” (v. 5). Speak peace to the people you’re called to reach. In other words, pray for those you’re hoping to lead to Christ. Pray that God would open their minds and soften their hearts to the truth of the gospel.

Step #2: FELLOWSHIP. “Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you” (vs. 7-8). Eat with and build relationships with the people you’re called to reach. Relationships build trust, and trust opens doors to speak more openly about Jesus.

Step #3: AGAPE LOVE. “Heal the sick who are there” (v. 9a). In the Book of Luke, Jesus gave his soul winners the power to drive out demons and heal the sick. Unless I’m missing something, Jesus hasn’t given us that same power. But there’s a general principle that Jesus is communicating here: Find a need among those you’re called to reach, and meet that need. Mow a lawn. Buy a few bags of groceries. Be a shoulder to cry on. Whatever the need is, meet it expecting nothing in return.

Step #4: The GOSPEL MESSAGE. “Tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you’” (v. 9b). Tell them about Jesus and why they need him.

Now, many of us are on board until we reach Step #4. We’re comfortable with praying, fellowshipping and even sharing Christ’s love with those in need. But we often stop short of sharing a clear Gospel message. In my opinion, the “Bridge Illustration” is one of the best. It can be shared with a group of kids on a dry erase board, or with an adult friend on a napkin at a restaurant. No artistic skills required. You can find several “How to Share the Bridge Illustration” videos on YouTube.

After you’ve shared the Bridge Illustration, ask two questions: Question #1: Does this make sense to you? If the answer is “No,” it’s important to go back and clarify any points that are unclear. But once your family member or friend understands the gospel message, it’s vital that you ask Question #2: Are you ready to trust in Jesus as your Savior and Lord? If they answer, “Yes!” lead them through the ABCs: A) Admit that you are a sinner; B) Believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins; and C) Choose to begin following and obeying Jesus today. Lead them in a prayer and call your pastor to set up a time for him/her to be baptized.

Jesus Christ is asking every one of us to share the gospel with those around us. If you are serious about being a soul winner, you need to be ready to share this simple life-changing message with your family and friends who need Christ. You might not be called to be an evangelist, but Jesus Christ has called you to be His witness. Tell your family and friends what He did for you AND for them on the cross. Then invite them to receive His free gift of forgiveness and commit their lives to Him.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person at 9 a.m., or online at 10 a.m. on YouTube or Facebook. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

How to Become a Soul Winner

 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” – Luke 19:10

On December 31^st—the final day of 2022—I was scrolling through social media and came across a one-minute excerpt from a sermon. And that 60-second message cut me to the heart.

The clip was taken from a sermon delivered some 20 years ago by Dr. Adrian Rogers, who served as senior pastor of a Baptist church in Tennessee for 32 years. These lines, in particular, hit me hard: “Most of the people in our church are not active soul winners.” “If you don’t have a passion to see people come to the Lord Jesus Christ, I wonder if you know the Jesus that I know.” “If you are not endeavoring to bring souls to Christ, you’re not right with God.”

Is he right? I hope not, because if he is, most of us will have a lot to answer for on Judgment Day. But I’m afraid he’s right. Even if we give our tithes, attend church faithfully and live clean, moral lives … if we’re not actively winning souls for Jesus Christ, we’re not right with God.

Jesus did a whole lot of soul-winning during his three-year ministry. In fact, winning souls for His Father in heaven was the main reason Jesus came to earth in the first place: He came to seek and save the lost. And one of those lost souls that He came to save was a despised tax collector named … Zacchaeus.

As Jesus passed through the city of Jericho in Luke 19, many Bible scholars believe that hundreds, if not thousands, of people were following Jesus through the streets that day. But of all the people in that Jericho crowd, Luke focuses on Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector. Tax collectors were detested in Jesus’ day, because they were known to extort more than a taxpayer owed to Rome—and, of course, pocket the extra.

But Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was and find out what all the fuss was about. And Zacchaeus was short—so he climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Jesus over the crowd. In verse 5, we read: “When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’” Although that’s not something we typically do in our culture today, in First Century Israel it was a great honor to be chosen to host a famous rabbi like Jesus. And when Zacchaeus heard Jesus’ invitation, “He came down at once and welcomed him gladly” (v. 6).

So Jesus went home with Zacchaeus, dined with him and invited him to make the most important decision of his life: to put his trust in Jesus as His Savior and Lord, repent of his sin and live a brand-new life. In response, Zacchaeus stood and said, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (v. 8).

Jesus responded, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham” (v. 9). Some people mistakenly think this means Zacchaeus was saved by his good works. But he was saved BEFORE his good works. A greedy, hell-bound sinner like Zacchaeus never would have done what he did in verse 8. He did it because he was a new creation. What we read in verse 8 is simply the fruit of his repentance.

After declaring that Zacchaeus was saved, Jesus spoke these glorious words in verse 10: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” There’s something profound in this verse that is easy to miss. Zacchaeus thought he was the one doing the seeking. But, truth be told, Jesus was seeking Zacchaeus long before Zacchaeus began seeking Him. And the same is true for me and for you and for everyone else we know. Jesus was seeking us long before we started seeking Him.

So, aspiring soul winners, listen up! We don’t sit back and wait for someone to express an interest in Jesus. We bring Jesus to them, because Jesus always seeks us before we ever seek Him. Whether it’s a family member, friend, co-worker or a perfect stranger, Jesus is seeking them long before they ever seek Him. It’s our job to make the introduction.

Here are three steps to becoming a soul winner:

#1: Pray for yourself. Ask God to give you a burden for lost souls and to choose you to be a soul winner. In Isaiah 6, God needed someone to go to His chosen people and urge them to repent. The LORD Almighty asked, “Whom shall I send? And who will go out for us?” (v. 8). And like a kid whose teacher just asked, “Who wants a free ticket to Disneyland?” Isaiah spoke up and said: “Ooo! Ooo! Here am I. Send me!” We should have that same kind of enthusiasm to lead lost people to Christ.

#2: Pray for others. Pray by name for the salvation of people you know who need Christ. How many people do you know who are far from God? You should pray for them by name on a regular basis—asking God to soften their hard hearts, open their closed minds and draw them unto Himself for salvation. Would you please begin doing this EVERY day? Remember, the prayers of a righteous man or woman of God are powerful and effective.

#3: Be intentional about building relationships with those who need God’s grace, and take the initiative to steer conversations to Christ. Jesus Christ has called YOU to take the initiative. YOU need to build relationships with those who need Him, and YOU need to take the initiative to steer conversations to the gospel. Let’s start introducing people to Jesus Christ.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person at 9 a.m., or online at 10 a.m. on YouTube or Facebook. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Are You Crazy?

“If we are ‘out of our mind,’ as some say, it is for God.”

- 2 Corinthians 5:13

I’m going to get this out of the way right up front: The greatest followers of Christ are a little bit nuts. Think about it: The most effective, world-changing followers of Christ tend to be a little off their rocker. Take Paul and Silas, for example. In the city of Philippi, they were arrested, severely beaten, and thrown in jail. As they sat there, bloody and bruised and in horrible pain, what did they do at midnight? They started singing hymns of praise to God. How about Noah? He built the world’s biggest ship in the middle of the desert. How about Ezekiel? He preached to a pile of dry bones. And what about Jesus himself? He touched contagious lepers. That’s not sanitary!  He jeopardized his reputation by eating with prostitutes and lowlifes. That’s not smart!  And on Passover week he walked into Jerusalem knowing full-well that he was going to be arrested, tortured and nailed to a cross to die. That’s crazy, right?

But I’ve got news for you. If you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, you ought to be a little bit nuts yourself. In this world where we are surrounded by “normal” people, Jesus Christ calls his followers to be abnormal for him. As I mentioned in last week’s column, if you really want to please God, and at the same time be the biggest blessing to others, lead people to Jesus Christ. It sounds a little bit nuts to lead people into a saving relationship with a man who lived 2,000 years ago—doesn’t it?

But we know that Jesus was no ordinary man. He’s the God-man! And every single person in the world needs him much more than they realize. If we want to please God, leading people to Jesus Christ is the right thing to do. But God doesn’t want us to just do the right thing. He wants us to do the right thing with the right motives. And in 2 Corinthians 5, Paul points out three godly motives for persuading people to believe in Jesus Christ and be reconciled to God.

Godly Motive #1: The fear of the Lord. Sadly, most American Christians seem to have forgotten how vital it is to fear God. But we should know better. As followers of Christ, we know that God is a holy God, set apart from all sin and all selfishness. And He expects us to be set aside from all sin and all selfishness. If we’re not, there’s a good chance we’re not really saved. God is a just God, and He will justly punish sinners in hell for all eternity. So, every one of us should maintain a healthy fear of God. Our healthy fear of God--and of the eternal consequences of rebellion against God--motivates us to persuade people to turn from their sin and be reconciled to God through Christ. Because we know what it is to fear God, the thought of anyone around us spending eternity in Hell should scare us.

Godly Motive #2: The love of Christ. If you’ve heard it once, you’ve probably heard it 100 times: God loves you. But God doesn’t just love the new you. God loved you when you were unlovely. God loved you when you were unlovable. And that’s one of the most remarkable things about God’s love: It’s undeserved. It’s unconditional. You might even say: God’s love is a little bit nuts—a crazy kind of love. According to verse 15, Jesus loved us so much that he died for us. And he died for us so that we could live for him. As a wise Christian once said: “Christ died our death for us that we might live His life for Him.” And Christ’s great love should compel us to live every day of our lives as a thank you gift to Him, as an offering to him, as an act of love to him. And as we live our lives for Jesus, what is one of the best ways to truly show Him our thanks and love? Persuading sinners he loves to accept him and be reconciled to God.

Godly Motive #3: Understanding our duty and privilege. According to verses 18-21, there’s another reason why every Christian should make personal evangelism a top priority. You should persuade people to accept Christ and be reconciled to God because it is your duty. And it is your privilege. Once we get to heaven, we won’t be able to evangelize. We won’t be able to lead anyone to salvation in Christ, because everyone in heaven will already be saved! So, it’s our duty to take this opportunity we have here on earth to lead people to Jesus. If you and I don’t do it now, we won’t ever be able to do it again. And it is our privilege. Do you realize that the angels would love to be able to do what we get to do every week? The angels would love to be able to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with people and see them snatched out of Satan’s grasp. While you’re here on earth, you have a golden opportunity to bring dozens of people to heaven with you. God wants to draw people to Himself through you. So, let Him! Don’t neglect your duty. And don’t squander your privilege.

So, the next time you catch yourself saying, “Evangelism isn’t my thing,” remember that your life as a follower of Christ is not supposed to be about doing “my thing.” It’s supposed to be about doing “His” thing. Saving lost souls is definitely “His” thing. And there’s nothing crazy about that.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our worship service every Sunday at 10 a.m. at the new Dr. Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.