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.

God Didn’t Send Us a Check on Christmas

“The Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.”
– Isaiah 61:1

David Livingstone was a famous explorer and missionary who served overseas in the 1800s. He led three expeditions into the heart of Africa, making hundreds of discoveries along the way, speaking out against slavery, and taking the gospel to places where no European had ever set foot.

Although he was hailed as a hero in England, Livingstone was dirt poor and had very little help with his missionary expeditions. One day he received a letter that asked, “Have you found a good road to where you are? If so, we want to know how to send other men to join you.” But David Livingstone replied, “If you have men who will only come if they know there is a GOOD road, I don’t want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all.”

Many Christians WANT to be a part of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with people who aren’t saved. But they insist on sharing the gospel on their own terms. “Count me in … as long as I won’t be gone more than a week.” “I’d be happy to help … if there’s a good road that’ll get me there.” Sadly, most Christians refuse even to walk across the street to share the Gospel. When pressed to throw a lifeline to lost and dying people, it’s easier just to send a check.

Aren’t you glad that when our world desperately needed a Savior, God didn’t just send a check? He sent His SON. And God didn’t wait for a good road before He sent Jesus to earth to save us from our sins. Jesus came to earth to build the road. He Himself IS the road to healing, freedom and salvation. Long before Jesus was born, Isaiah 61 made that clear. The chapter begins: “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners” (v. 1).

If you have any doubt that these verses describe Jesus Christ, you need only turn to Luke 4. After Jesus had been baptized in the Jordan River and spent 40 days fasting and praying in the desert, he returned to his hometown of Nazareth and went to synagogue on the Sabbath. Luke tells us, “He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him” (vs. 16-17). Jesus unrolled the scroll and read those prophetic verses from the Book of Isaiah. Then he sat down and told them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (v. 21).

Now, according to the prophecy foretold by Isaiah, what did the Spirit of God anoint the Son of God to do?

#1: Jesus came to preach good news to the poor. Jesus’ greatest sermon is his Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew 5-7. He began this great sermon with the first beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” To be poor in spirit means to be humble and empty, admitting our own unworthiness before God and our utter dependence on Him. So, first and foremost, Jesus came to reach those who were humble enough to understand the bad news: that we are all spiritually bankrupt without Christ. And Jesus also came to bring the Good News: that He had made a way where there seemed to be no way. He would conquer sin and death.

#2: Jesus came to bind up the brokenhearted. The brokenhearted are those who feel as if life has chewed them up and spit them out. After pouring so much blood, sweat and tears into their hopes and dreams, their hopes have been dashed, and their dreams have been shattered.

But Jesus specializes in binding up broken hearts. The Hebrew word used in Isaiah 61:1 literally means “to bandage or wrap up a serious wound.” But figuratively, it means “to inspire with confidence, give hope and courage to, to encourage.”

#3: Jesus came to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. Jesus came to set us free from our captivity to sin and death. In John 8:34, Jesus tells his disciples, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” And two verses later, He follows it up by saying, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36). Jesus came to free us from our slavery to sin, which leads to eternal damnation in hell. Most people are slaves to their own sin, and they’re blind to that fact. But once their eyes are opened and they realize they are slaves to sin and death, Jesus can set them free.

Jesus’ mission was far too important to just send a check. So, on that first Christmas, God sent His Son. And now He is sending you—probably not to the jungles of Africa—but He is sending you to your neighbor, a friend or coworker. And He’s certainly sending you to your own family. All the people around you who don’t have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ are slaves to sin. They desperately need Jesus. So, this Christmas, God isn’t sending them a check. Since you have what they need, He is sending them YOU.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us for our Christmas morning service tomorrow at 10 a.m.: in person at 17746 George Blvd., Victorville, CA, or online on YouTube or Facebook. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

 

Running Against God

“I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” – Jonah 4:2 

“Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo is one of the best loved novels of all time. You’ve probably seen one of the many adaptations in a movie or musical. It tells the bittersweet story of Jean Valjean, a poor wood-chopper’s son who grew up as an orphan. When he was just 17, after his brother-in-law died, the responsibility fell on Valjean to provide for his sister’s seven young children. But he didn’t earn enough money to even feed them. So, one winter night, he went out, broke a baker’s window and stole a loaf of bread. The next morning he was arrested for stealing. His bleeding hand convicted him.

Valjean was sentenced to five years of hard labor in prison. But because of numerous escape attempts that added to his sentence, Valjean ended up serving 19 years in prison—for stealing a loaf of bread for his family. By the time he was released, he was bitter, mean and mad at the world. As he traveled from town to town, nobody wanted anything to do with him. Finally, Valjean went to the house of a Catholic bishop, who took him in, fed him and gave him a bed for the night. But after the bishop fell asleep, Valjean stole all of his silver knives and forks and fled. Early the next morning, five soldiers brought Valjean back to the bishop’s house, explaining that they were arresting him for stealing the silver. But the bishop turned to Valjean and said, “I gave you the candlesticks, too. Why didn’t you take them?” And then he turned to the soldiers and said, “It was a mistake to arrest him. Let him go. The silver is his. I gave it to him.”

As the soldiers left, Valjean whispered to the bishop, “Is it true that I am free? I may go?” And the bishop responded with some of the most wonderful words ever penned in a novel: “Yes. But before you go, take your candlesticks. Jean Valjean, my brother: you belong no longer to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I am buying for you. I withdraw it from black thoughts and the spirit of hate, and I give it to God!” From that moment on, Jean Valjean was a changed man. His heart belonged to God, and he spent the rest of his life loving and serving others. Years later, as Valjean lay on his deathbed, there was something familiar in the room just a few feet from his head:  those two silver candlesticks that for years had reminded him of God’s great mercy and grace.

If only the prophet Jonah had had as much compassion for the people of Nineveh as the good bishop had for Jean Valjean! But in chapter 4 of the Book of Jonah, we see that isn’t the case. After running from God’s will, then doing an about-face after being spat up by a whale, Jonah walked into the city of Ninevah and preached ONE sermon—and over 100,000 people repented from their wickedness. Jonah should have been thrilled. Instead, we read that “Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry” (v. 1). And he prayed this angry prayer: “O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live” (vs. 2-3).  

You see, Jonah—like most Israelites of his time—hated the Ninevites, because it was prophesied that Assyria was going to wipe out Northern Israel, and Nineveh was one of the biggest cities in Assyria. The Jews considered Assyrians their mortal enemies. So Jonah would have preferred that the Assyrians NOT repent … for them to die a horrible death rather than be spared by God … to burn in hell for all eternity rather than go to heaven. At least at that moment, Jonah despised the compassion of God.

Jonah didn’t want to see this basic truth: If Jonah was saved, his salvation was for others. As Bible commentator Michael Griffiths puts it:  “If Jonah receives the call, if he is truly saved, it is for others. We must be permeated by the conviction that if grace is being conferred on us, it is primarily for others. The Christian is not just the man who is saved by Christ, he is the man whom God uses for the salvation of others by Christ.” The same holds true for you and me. Jesus Christ has given salvation and grace TO us so that He can give salvation and grace THROUGH us. We must never hoard them.

Honestly, we’re more like Jonah than we like to admit. We’re more than happy to receive Christ’s salvation. But we want to keep it to ourselves, especially when we’re around people we can’t stand. We’ve somehow missed or ignored the reality that every blessing from God in our lives was given to us to be shared. Your salvation is supposed to be shared. Your spiritual gifts, talents and abilities are supposed to be shared. Your house, your car and your food, your time and your money, are all supposed to be shared.

Every good and perfect gift that has ever come across your path is from God, and it was given to you to share. So, let’s be more like the good bishop (selfless, generous and compassionate) and not like Jonah (selfish, stingy and judgmental). As Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:8: “Freely you have received. So, freely give.”

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Running With God

“The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.” – Jonah 3:5 

Back in 1954, Governor Christian Herter of Massachusetts was working hard on the campaign trail as he ran for a second term. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes, he arrived at a mid-afternoon church barbecue. He hadn’t eaten a thing since breakfast, so he was really hungry. As Governor Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving the chicken. She put one piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line. Using his best manners, Governor Herter asked, "Excuse me. Do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?" She responded, "Sorry. I'm supposed to give only one piece of chicken to each person." 

Normally the governor wasn’t one to throw his weight around, but he was starving. So, he looked the woman in the eye and said, “Do you know who I am? I am the governor of this state.” Without missing a beat, she responded, “Do you know who I am? I’m the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister.”

Wouldn’t it have been nice if the prophet Jonah had been as good at following orders as the lady serving the chicken? The job of an Old Testament prophet was NOT complicated. Simply say WHAT God wants you to say, WHEN God wants you to say it, to WHOMEVER God tells you to say it to. For the Old Testament prophet, Job #1 was OBEDIENCE. The job wasn’t complicated, but it WAS really hard. Quite often God told His prophets to say things they didn’t want to say at times they didn’t want to say them to people they didn’t want to say them to.

That’s the way it was with Jonah. When he got God’s marching orders to preach God’s message to the people of Ninevah, he ran the other way. And you remember what happened next. Jonah boarded a ship. Fierce storm. Jonah confessed that the storm was his fault. The sailors tossed Jonah overboard. As Jonah was about to drown, he cried out to God in prayer. God saved his life by providing a great big fish to swallow him and give Jonah a free ride back to shore. And as soon as Jonah turned to the LORD and confessed his willingness to do what God called him to do, “The LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land” (Jonah 2:10).

At last Jonah began running WITH God and doing the work he’d been called to do. He was ready and willing to obey the LORD, but it’s pretty clear that he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. When he got to Ninevah, he started preaching on Day One: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned’” (Jonah 3:4). Now, this is probably just a small sample of his message, but it seems safe to say that Jonah didn’t preach a lengthy sermon. He didn’t tell them to repent. He didn’t teach them how to repent. He didn’t seem to give them any hope that they could do anything to stop God’s judgment from coming if they DID repent.

Yet, amazingly, “The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth” (v. 5). It’s hard to imagine how Jonah’s short-and-not-too-sweet message got through to them. But whatever the reason may be, GOD … WAS … BEHIND IT. God was at work. Just as God provided a fish for Jonah in chapter 2, God provided all that was needed for the people of Nineveh to repent and turn to Him. It certainly wasn’t Jonah’s preaching that won them over. It was ALL God.

And “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened” (v. 10). On the heels of showering Jonah with undeserved compassion, God showered the wicked people of Nineveh with undeserved compassion as well. You see, neither Jonah nor the people of Nineveh were too far gone to be reached by God’s mercy and grace. And neither are you.

I’d like to share two insights from Jonah’s latest adventures:

Insight #1: It’s not enough to just run TO God. You need to start running WITH God. Some of us are running from God, like Jonah in chapter 1, and we’re going nowhere fast. We need to come to our senses, make a spiritual U-turn and run TO God. But running TO God is only the starting point. Once we get to God, we need to start running WITH God. A surfer is not a surfer if he just paddles out TO the waves. He has to mount his board and start riding the waves. It’s the same way when you’re a Christian. Once you run TO God, you’ve got to start running WITH Him. Join Him in His work. Find out where He is moving, and move with Him. Find out where He is working, and work with Him.

Insight #2: In the Kingdom of God, the shortest distance between two points is obedience. It would have spared Jonah and the sailors on that ship a whole lot of pain and suffering if he had obeyed God’s word way back in chapter 1. If God is bound and determined to have you do something for Him, you’ll do it for Him eventually … one way or another. But it will save you and those around you a whole lot of pain and suffering if you obey quickly. The shortest distance between where you are right now and where God is calling you to go is obedience. So, don’t wait until the final chapter or two of your life to obey. Obey God’s word today. If you can’t beat Him, join Him!

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Running To God

“In my distress I called to the LORD and He answered me.”  
– Jonah 2:2

Back in the late 1800s, a story started circulating in coastal taverns around Great Britain. English whalers began sharing the biggest “fish story” anyone had ever heard. According to these whalers, in 1891, one of their shipmates—a 21-year-old apprentice named James Bartley—fell off the boat and disappeared underneath the water. They searched for him for hours, but there was no sign of him anywhere.

But the next day, the sperm whale they were hunting was floating dead on the surface of the ocean. And someone noticed the whale’s abdomen was moving in a strange way—as if something alive was inside it. So, the whalers cut open the large whale, and to everyone’s surprise… out came James Bartley, who had been inside the whale’s stomach for 18 long hours. His skin was bleached white, he was nearly blind, and he was temporarily insane. Newspapers called him a “modern-day Jonah.”

However … in the early 1900s, a historian did some investigating into that whopper of a fish story. He discovered many conflicting reports, and even received a letter from James Bartley’s wife who claimed the whole story was made up. So, was James Bartley actually swallowed by a whale or large fish? Probably not. But the Bible makes it clear that Jonah … WAS.

Now, Bible skeptics read the Book of Jonah and say, “Impossible! It couldn’t happen! It didn’t happen!” But followers of Christ look at Jonah 1:17 and say, “No problem! My Bible tells me in Luke 1:37: “Nothing is impossible with God.” Our God is a great and powerful God. He specializes in the impossible.

In chapter 1 of the Book of Jonah, God gave Jonah clear-cut marching orders to preach a message of repentance to the people of Ninevah. Instead, Jonah boarded a ship headed the other way. But after the boat set sail, God sent a “great wind” and a “violent storm” that engulfed the ship (v. 4). Finally, Jonah admitted to the panicking sailors that he was responsible for the storm because he had angered his Lord. He told the crew the storm would stop if they threw him off the ship. With a little persuading—and a lot more big waves—the crew tossed Jonah overboard.

After spending chapter 1 running FROM God, Jonah finally came to his senses and ran TO God at the beginning of chapter 2: “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God” (v. 1). It’s clear that Jonah didn’t wait until he was being digested to start praying. He started crying out to God before the fish ever swallowed him. As we read Jonah’s prayer in vs. 2-9, we see that it’s more of a testimony. Jonah prayed to God from inside the stomach of the great fish, recounting what had taken place over the past day or two. “In my distress I called to the LORD and He answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and You listened to my cry” (v. 2). According to verse 3, the currents swirled around him and the waves and breakers engulfed him.  According to verse 5, the deep waters surrounded him, and seaweed wrapped around his head as he sank down.

And what did God do? Did God say, “Forget you, Jonah! You’re getting what’s coming to you! Good riddance, you worthless piece of fish food!” No, thankfully, that’s not at all what God said.

According to verse 6, “[God] brought [Jonah’s] life up from the pit.” Did you catch that little word “up”? For a whole chapter Jonah had been going down, down, down in his rebellion. But as he humbly cried out to God in desperation, God “brought [his] life up from the pit.”

Isn’t that just like our great and awesome God? Even when we rebel against Him, ignore His commands and do the exact opposite of what He’s commanded us to do … when we in humble repentance cry out to Him for deliverance, His compassion, mercy and love break through.

For a whole chapter, Jonah rebelled against God’s marching orders. He was going nowhere but down until—in desperation—he looked up and cried out to God. So God provided a great fish and instructed the fish to swallow Jonah. And unlike Jonah, the fish OBEYED God’s instructions.

The Book of Jonah reminds us that running from God is pointless. It only brings hardship and disappointment. The 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon said it this way: “God never allows His children to sin successfully.” If you want to run from God, ignore God’s commands and pursue other priorities, God gives you that choice. But it’ll cost you. Life is hard enough when you’re running TO God. It’s a whole lot harder when you’re running FROM God. Jonah quickly discovered when he was running from God, His life just kept getting worse and worse. But when he repented and reached out to God in faith and obedience, God immediately began to bring him back up. God will do the same for you.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc. 

Running From God

“Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” -Jonah 1:2

This September 11th marked the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in 2001. It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since four planes were hijacked by terrorists and flown into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. Those attacks claimed 2,977 lives—and 412 of them were emergency workers in New York City who ran into the Twin Towers to help save others. Included in that number were 60 police officers and 343 firefighters. When those brave men and women received the call that the twin towers were on fire and people were trapped on the upper floors, they rushed into the building and sacrificed their own lives to save others.

They were heroes. When they received the call of duty, without hesitation, they went. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t easy. And it certainly wasn’t safe. But they went anyway, because it was their duty and their calling.

Jonah was one of God’s prophets in the Old Testament. He, too had a calling on his life: to speak God’s word whenever and wherever God told Him to. But unlike the heroes on 9/11, he turned his back on his call of duty. Jonah was the Reluctant Prophet.

It all started when God came to Jonah one day and said, “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me” (Jonah 1:2). Now, Nineveh was part of Assyria, which was notorious for its violence and cruelty to its enemies. The Assyrians weren’t satisfied with simply killing their enemies. They took great pleasure in torturing and dismembering them. So, this command made Jonah sick to his stomach. And he hated God’s marching orders for another reason: Jonah had NO interest in aiding and abetting an enemy of Israel. Yet God was commanding Jonah to travel 500 miles into enemy territory to preach a message of repentance. Jonah said, “Count me out!” Instead traveling 500 miles northeast in obedience to God’s command, he jumped on a ship to head 2,500 miles in the opposite direction—to Tarshish in modern-day Spain.

Why was Jonah doing everything in his power to NOT go to Nineveh and preach to the Assyrians? It wasn’t because Jonah didn’t know God. It’s because he DID know God. Jonah knew that if he preached to the people of Nineveh and they repented, God would forgive them and spare them. And that’s the last thing Jonah wanted. In his heart, he wanted the Assyrians to die in their sins and go to hell. Jonah was a real sweetheart, wasn’t he?

Now, I’d like to think that Christians today are much different than Jonah. But let’s be honest: We’re not! Truth be told, there are some people who we don’t want with us in heaven. Not too long ago I was scrolling through Facebook and saw a political post about Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. A Christian I know had posted this comment below it: “Go to Hell, Nancy!” Friends, God has a big problem with us telling people we like “God bless you!” on Sunday morning and turning around and telling people we don’t like “Go to Hell” on Monday morning. Followers of Christ, THAT … IS … SIN! Wishing hell on anyone is a sin. Jesus came to earth to seek and save the lost, and if you are a follower of Jesus, He calls you to do the same.

Jonah was consumed by hatred, resentment and vengeance. But you and I must NOT be. We are on mission from God to share the good news of Jesus Christ with EVERYONE, not just with those we like … not just with those who like us … not just with those who are in our comfort zone. In the Book of Jonah, God shows Himself to be consumed with compassion and love for hopeless sinners. So too must we be consumed with compassion and love for hopeless sinners.

Come what may, God wants you to obey His marching orders: to go and share God’s word with lost and dying people. We need to have a heart like Christ’s: a heart filled with mercy and love for lost and dying people. Like Jesus, God wants you and me to seek and save the lost.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us Sundays for our in-person service at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

I Never Knew You

 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.”
- Matthew 7:21

When all is said and done, the most important thing we ever do in life is to share the gospel. The most important thing that we can do is tell people the truth—that every human being will live forever in one of two places: either in heaven or in hell. The good news is, there is a way to heaven that is guaranteed. And that way is Jesus Christ.

In eternity we will have fully functioning minds and bodies. Those who are in heaven will fully perceive every bit of joy and peace and comfort and love. And those who are in hell will fully perceive every bit of pain, agony, shame and regret. The Bible teaches us that hell is a place of eternal torment that God has prepared for the devil and his demons. We're okay with that, aren't we? The devil and his demons deserve what's coming to them. And so do Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden, murderers, rapists and child molesters. Right?

We look at the most vile criminals in human history and say to ourselves, “They deserve to go to hell!” But in Matthew 7, Jesus warns us that it’s not only murderers, rapists and Satan worshipers who will go to hell. Many professed CHRISTIANS will go to hell also. In verse 23, Jesus says that many Christians who stand before Him on Judgment Day will hear seven of the most horrifying, spine-chilling words in the Bible: “I never knew you. Away from Me.”

How is this possible? To understand, let’s take a look at 3 hard-hitting truths about the narrow road to heaven.

Heaven Truth #1: Confessing Christ as Lord and Savior won't get you to heaven, no matter how often you do it. Jesus says in v. 21, “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” As important as confessing Christ is, if there is no faith in Christ and no transformed life, there is no salvation—no matter how many times you parrot the words, “Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the living God.” Atheists can parrot those same words. Demons routinely parrot those words.

Perhaps James says it best in James 2:14 & 26: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?... As the body without spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” James could just as easily have said, “Confession without deeds is dead.” If you're simply confessing Christ with you mouth, but not confessing Him with your actions, your confession is empty and useless.

Heaven Truth #2: An emotional response to Christ won't get you to heaven, no matter how amazing it feels. Jesus says in Matthew 7:22, “Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” There are several truths about the road to heaven that we can extrapolate from this verse. But one of these truths is this: Emotions and enthusiasm won't get you there.

This should frighten a lot of church-goin' folk who are convinced they are saved. One of the trends in modern-day worship services is to produce very emotional worship services. The music and the lights and feverish pitch of the sermon are all designed to draw out an emotional response. Now, emotional worship services CAN be a wonderful thing … if God is in it. But church leaders have to be careful not to manufacture emotional responses to the Gospel that are a mile wide but only an inch deep. Emotions are a terrible indicator of whether you're going to heaven or hell. Emotions come and go. Emotions are up, down and all around. So, they're a terrible indicator of whether or not you're really saved.

Heaven Truth #3: Religious acts won't get you to heaven, no matter how impressive they look. Of these three heavenly truths, this one is the hardest for many of us to comprehend. Jesus doesn't point out three simple religious acts that fake Christians can easily do, like going to church, memorizing the Lord's Prayer or singing in the choir. Jesus identifies three really big and impressive acts: prophesying in Jesus' name, performing exorcisms in Jesus' name, and healing others in Jesus' name. This is the kind of stuff that will knock your socks off. But remember this. Judas Iscariot was one of Jesus' chosen 12 apostles, and Jesus gave all 12 of them power and authority to drive out demons, cure diseases and heal the sick. Judas Iscariot did ALL of those wonderful, powerful “Christian” things—and after all of that, he still went to hell.

Religious acts won't get you to heaven, no matter how impressive they look. Tithing won't get you to heaven, even if you’re the biggest tither in the church. Baptism won't get you to heaven, even if you were baptized by Billy Graham himself. Praying for the sick, volunteering at the food bank and handing out gospel tracts are NO guarantees of your salvation. Sadly, many of the most religious churchgoers in America will not make it to heaven.

Real Christianity boils down to three things: Trust God, love God and obey God while abiding in a personal relationship with God. Only a true follower of Christ will aim to do these three things every day—whether we're at church, at home, at work or at WalMart. Whether we're around Christians or nonChristians. Whether our obedience to Christ is applauded or hated. If you’re the real deal, you will trust God, love God and obey God every day until you reach the end of the narrow road and Jesus calls you home to heaven.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Know Them By Their Fruit (pt. 2)

 “By their fruit you will recognize them.”
- Matthew 7:16

In last week’s column, we looked at how to recognize a false teacher. In Matthew 7:16 and again in v. 20, Jesus tells us that we can recognize false teachers “by their fruit”—by observing the lives they live. But sometimes that’s easier said than done. Many churches are too big for us to get to know our pastor on a personal basis. And we can’t see what our church elders are doing behind closed doors. What we see on Sunday mornings looks good, but how can we know for sure whether or not our church leaders are false teachers peddling false teaching?

Well, you might not be able to see the rotten fruit in a false teacher’s personal life, but if you put in a little effort, you can see the rotten fruit in his teaching. Theologian William Barclay points out some red flags of false teaching in the church. I’ll highlight three of them.

Red Flag #1: Teaching is false if it focuses primarily on the observance of external religion. Barclay writes, “It is possible—and indeed not uncommon—to teach that religion consists of going to Church, observing the Lord’s Day, fulfilling one’s financial obligations to the Church, reading one’s Bible. A man might do all these things and be far off from being a Christian, for Christianity is an attitude of the heart to God and to man.”

So, when you’re thinking of joining a church, I encourage you to listen to a bunch of the pastor’s sermons online and attend at least a few Bible studies. If almost all of the teaching is focused on the external, and there is very little said about the sin in our hearts, that’s a red flag—because our faith is lived from the inside out. There is no excuse for any church to neglect teaching about our hearts, our souls and our spirits. That’s a sign of false teaching. That’s an indication of rotten fruit. Find another church.

Red Flag #2. Teaching is false if it focuses primarily on “Thou Shalt Nots.” As Barclay puts it, “There is a type of teacher who says to a [new] Christian: ‘From now on you will no longer go to the cinema; from now on you will no longer dance; from now on you will no longer smoke or use make-up; from now on you will never enter a theatre.’ If a man could become a Christian simply by abstaining from doing things Christianity would be a much easier religion than it is. But the whole essence of Christianity is that it does not consist in not doing things; it consists in doing things.”

Like most Christians, I don’t think followers of Christ should be dropping “F-bombs,” drinking Jack Daniels every weekend and watching every R-rated movie that hits the theaters. But there are plenty of people who never drop F-bombs, never drink hard liquor and never watch smutty movies—and they’re still headed for hell. How is that possible? It’s possible because “clean living” doesn’t save you. Jesus saves you. And Jesus only saves you if you follow Him. And following Jesus has never been primarily about what you DON’T do. It’s primarily about what you DO do: trusting Him, loving Him, and obeying Him. And here’s the kicker: As you trust, love and obey Jesus Christ, you will naturally NOT do the things that grieve His heart. You will naturally NOT do things that are sinful.

Following Christ naturally leads to NOT sinning—but it doesn’t work in reverse. NOT sinning doesn’t naturally lead to trusting, loving and obeying Christ. So, if a pastor or Bible teacher is constantly preaching “Thou shalt not” messages and is ignoring the call of Christ to trust, to love and to actively do what Jesus would do, that’s a red flag. That’s a sign of legalism and false teaching. It’s an indication of rotten fruit. Find another church.

Red Flag #3. Teaching is false if it tries to convince people that following Christ is easy. Barclay writes, “Any teaching which takes the Cross out of Christianity, any teaching which eliminates the threat from the voice of Christ, any teaching which pushes judgment into the background and makes men think lightly of sin, is false teaching.”

I get really concerned when pastors eliminate the words sin, repentance, judgment and hell from their sermons. For me, that’s a major red flag. Nobody loves a positive, uplifting message more than Jesus. But the problem is, in an attempt to be “positive” and “uplifting,” far too many pastors and teachers water down the gospel and ignore some of the most important teachings of the New Testament. And do you know what a watered-down gospel is? A watered-down gospel is no gospel at all. So, if a pastor’s teaching is always easy on your ears, easy on your conscience and makes it easy to keep living the same ol’ way you’ve been living, that’s a red flag. That’s a sign of false teaching. That’s an indication of rotten fruit. Find another church.

Some of Jesus’ teachings are really, really hard. And that narrow road to heaven is a hard road. When God’s word is faithfully preached, it doesn’t tickle your itching ears. Instead, God’s word corrects. It rebukes. And it encourages you to turn from your sin and follow Christ with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

The Narrow Way

 “Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
- Matthew 7:14

I love a good poem. And one of my favorite poets of all time is Robert Frost. In 1915, Frost wrote one of his most beloved poems, “The Road Not Taken.” He actually wrote it as a joke to tease his friend Edward Thomas about his indecisiveness. But most people who read the poem, including me, take it as a clarion call to choose the right path in the life—the path that most people don’t take. The poem ends: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by—And that has made all the difference.”

We make decisions every day—minor ones, such as what to eat for breakfast, and major ones, such as who to marry and how many children to have. But no decision is as important as the one Jesus highlights in Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Jesus makes it clear we all stand at a spiritual crossroads, and there are two paths in front of us. The first path is wide and well-traveled. It’s the path that most people take, and it leads to eternal destruction. In other words, the wide path leads to hell. The second path is narrow, bumpy and less-traveled. It’s the path that only a few people take, and it leads to eternal life. In other words, the narrow path leads to heaven.

What’s the difference between these two roads? Bible scholar William Barclay points out four differences:

Difference #1: The narrow road is the HARD road; the wide road is the EASY road. Anyone who tells you that following Christ is easy is lying to you. I’ll tell you what’s easy: Going with the flow, following the crowd—doing what everybody else around you is doing. It’s the path of least resistance, and it’s so, so easy. But following Jesus on the narrow path to heaven is never easy. It’s a battle to keep our big mouths shut. It’s a battle to be patient. It’s a battle to get rid of our anger and resentment, to put others’ needs above our own and to keep our priorities straight. But if you go with the flow, you’ll go to HELL Going with the majority will never get you to HEAVEN. Walking through the small gate and traveling the narrow road to heaven is really, really hard. But Jesus says, “Travel that road anyway.”

Difference #2: The narrow road is the LONG road; the wide road is the SHORT road. Traveling the wide road to destruction not only is easy, it’s short. In fact, it’s so short that you’re already there. The Bible makes it clear that you and I are already dead in our sins. We’re not on our way to destruction. We’re already there! The shortest road in the world is the road to hell. We don’t need to exert an ounce of effort to get there, because we’ve already made our reservation. But the road to heaven is a long road. As Christians, we may have come a long way in our faith, but we still have a long way to go. But as hard as it is to follow Christ well over the long haul, it is so, so worth it.

Difference #3: The narrow road is the DISCIPLINED road; the wide road is the UNDISCIPLINED road. Nothing great is ever achieved without discipline. But untold millions of men and women have squandered their lives by being undisciplined and lazy. If you sleep too much and work too little, guess which road you’re most likely on? If you feed your face more than you feed your spirit, guess which road you’re most likely on? The wide road to hell is easy, short and lazy. The narrow road to heaven is hard and long and requires discipline.

Difference #4: The narrow road is the THOUGHTFUL road; the wide road is the THOUGHTLESS road. It requires no thinking at all to go to hell, does it? You don’t have to think about what’s right or wrong. You don’t have to think about what’s moral or immoral. You don’t have to think about whether God approves or disapproves or your words, your actions or your priorities. You don’t have to think at all to go to hell—just do whatever the “hell” you feel like doing! But if you don’t want to go to hell, there’s no way around it: You’re going to have to think. We live in a time when far too many people fail to consider the long-term consequences of their actions. Too many addicts get behind the wheel of a car without considering that their stupidity will end up killing someone. Married men and women have affairs without considering that their selfishness will tear their family apart. Too many singles have sex with anyone they date without considering that their lack of self-control will lead to unplanned pregnancy, STDs, sterility or possibly even cancer. Far too many people live for the moment and will spend the rest of eternity regretting it.

In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus throws down the gauntlet and says, “Choose, people! Choose one or the other. Option #1 is the wide road to hell. The wide road is easy, short, undisciplined and thoughtless. Option #2 is the narrow road to heaven. The narrow road is hard, long and requires discipline and thought. The choice is yours. But you MUST choose.”

I hope and pray that you join me in saying, “To hell with the easy road, the short road, the undisciplined road, the lazy road!” I pray that you will choose the road less traveled—because that will make all the difference, both now and for eternity.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

3 More Prayer Requests from Jesus

 “Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” – Matthew 6:11-13

I think most of us understand that there’s a wrong way to pray. For example, this year’s Super Bowl was an absolute slaughter. At halftime the Chiefs were down 21-6 to the underdog Buccaneers. And by that time, you can guess what many Chiefs fans were doing, especially those who had bet on the game: They began praying for a miracle. After all, they had a lot riding on that game: money, pride and bragging rights. Do I even need to say it? That’s the wrong way to pray.

Another wrong use of prayer is to take someone else on a guilt trip. Instead of confronting them face-to-face, we choose the passive-aggressive approach and pray in front of them. “Lord, thank you for Jennifer. But I pray that she’ll stop being late all the time.” Or, “Father in heaven, help John to stop being so rude to me.” Most of us parents, at one time or another, have performed some guilt-trip prayers in front of our kids. After all, why confront them with their bad behavior when we can just pray for them at the dinner table? Friends, that’s another wrong way to pray.

But in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus begins teaching us the right way to pray. He says, “This, then, is how you should pray” (Matthew 6:9). And He proceeds to teach us The Lord’s Prayer. There are six prayer requests in this short prayer. Many Christians assume the first three requests in The Lord’s Prayer are focused on God’s needs and wants—“Hallowed by Your name,” “Your Kingdom come,” and “Your will be done”—while the last three requests focus on our needs and wants. But that’s only partly true. The last three prayer requests are very personal and practical, but each one still stems from a desire to see God’s name honored, God’s kingdom come and God’s will be done. Let’s take a look.

Jesus’ 4th Prayer Request (v. 11): “Give us today our daily bread.” Many ask, “What does Jesus mean by ‘daily bread’?” Well, we know that “bread” is a common symbol in the Bible, usually used as a synonym for food. So, Jesus’ 4th request in The Lord’s Prayer most likely boils down to this: “Our Father in heaven, give us the food we need today for our sustenance and support.” Or, as the New Living Translation puts it: “Give us today the food we need.” Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “Give us this month the food we need.” Or even “Give us over the next few days the food we need.” Jesus wants us to express our dependence on God every day. 

Jesus’ 5th Prayer Request (v. 12): “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” In Jesus’ day, Jewish teachers used the word “debts” as a synonym for “sins.” So, Jesus is teaching us to pray that God will “forgive us for our sins, as we also have forgiven those who have sinned against us.” And if you’re wondering if Jesus is actually saying what you think He’s saying, the answer is YES … HE IS. Jesus is teaching us to basically pray, “Father in heaven, please forgive me for my sins. But only forgive me to the extent that I have already forgiven others who have sinned against me.” And all God’s children say, “Uh-oh!!!”

In case we miss what Jesus is saying here, He clarifies this 5th prayer request later on, in verses 14 and 15: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Is Jesus actually saying that God will refuse to forgive us if we refuse to forgive others? Bingo! That’s exactly what He’s saying. Think about it: How can we possibly expect God to forgive us for a sin that we fully intend to commit again and again--tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that?

So, according to Jesus, this is the right way to pray: “Our Father in heaven, You are a God of great mercy and forgiveness. So, as we follow in Your footsteps, we have shown mercy and forgiveness to those who have sinned against us. Now, that we ourselves aren’t holding on to any unforgiveness, please forgive us for the sins we’ve committed against You.”

Jesus’ 6th Prayer Request (v. 13): “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” The Bible teaches us, “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone” (James 1:13b). So what does this prayer request mean? Here’s a great insight that I learned from Pastor John Piper: “All our experiences are tests from God and are temptations from Satan.” He goes on to explain, “Pleasant Experiences – God wants us to thank Him. Satan wants us to idolize the pleasure. Painful Experiences – God wants us to trust Him. Satan wants us to curse God.” Learn to think of everything that you go through in life—whether it’s good, bad or ugly—as a test from God and as a temptation from Satan.

I pray that you’ll take these prayer requests to heart and pray them daily, alone AND with your family. Express to God your complete dependence upon Him to meet your needs today. Forgive others first, and ask God for forgiveness second. And finally, ask God to deliver you from anything—even blessings—that might pull you and your family away from God.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.