Have you saved a soul lately? Have you offered someone the gift of salvation (Romans 10:9-10) and explained to them what that means, or were your feelings hurt the first time they said no, so you figured you’d just get them to church and let your Pastor ask them? Let’s be honest!
I think somewhere around 2006/2007 I heard it offered in a group setting, but I’m not sure if I accepted it at that time. I still went to church after that. I listened to the word, but I felt no difference, nor did I really try to change. It wasn’t until July 27, 2011, six months after my oldest brother died that I heard that offer again and willingly opened my mouth and gave a resounding yes. Why then you ask, because I realized that I needed something more, and someone greater than myself to fix me.
I walked around the church for 4 years not understanding. Hearing the word but not changed by it because I don’t believe I ever said yes. What do you think would have happened if someone just asked me Lori, are you saved, and not assume just because I had a seat in the building that I was?
People very easily regurgitate what they’ve heard at a church service or from a family member, but does it really mean anything to them. Holy Spirit can’t help you unless and until you confess and believe that Jesus is Lord. How many opportunities have we passed up trying to convince someone to come to church, instead of offering them a gift that doesn’t cost gas money or coins in a collection plate?
Matthew 28:16-20 (The Great Commission) tells us not just to GO, but to MAKE. We are in this world every day, whether at work, at school, in the marketplace. The location that we physically stand is the GO. From there is where we make the conscious decision to MAKE. To share and witness to people, so that they may have the opportunity to receive Christ. What if they don’t make it to the third “come to church offer?” Acts 1:8 tells us “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me (Jesus) in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to all the ends of the earth.” (NKJV)
Remove yourself out of the equation. The offer is not about us, and their acceptance or denial isn’t either. Get out of your hurt feelings that they said no and offer it to them again at another time. Their refusal the second and third time may be because of how you took it the first time!
So, I’ll ask this question again. Have you saved a soul today, this week, this month or even this year, or was their first no enough for you emotionally, and so to save face you decided not to ask them again?
I had no idea what my purpose was. I struggled to figure out why I was still alive. Sexual abuse at age 11 by someone who called himself a friend of my parents, four subsequent attempts at suicide between the ages of 14 to 43, and to cap it off, a mental breakdown within the church. It was after recovering from that where I learned what that purpose was.
It was total transparency. It was not being ashamed of my story, and not being afraid to share my truth with others. It was the willingness to offer people a gift, and not be ashamed or embarrassed if they said no. I’ve been afraid and ashamed of many things in my life; my financial instability, my weight, my never finishing my college education. What I will never be afraid of again is my truth. It was in honoring and sharing my truth, that I was able to honor God. I began to feel lighter as I shared, believing that it would help someone else.
Now that you have been saved(?), why are you holding on to that wonderful gift for yourself? Share it with others, let heaven rejoice because you were not ashamed. God’s word in Luke 9:26 says “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.” (NKJV).
If this is more than your first attempt at getting someone to your church, or to watch a Bible related teaching that you found helpful in your walk, take a step back, regroup, and simply ask them, “are you saved? Would you like to know Jesus for yourself?” No matter what their answer is, continue to show them the love of Christ through Holy Spirit and not your Wholly Soul.
The same applause we hear from the saints in the church and angels in Heaven when someone receives salvation, can be the same applause you hear in the supermarket and at work. We have a job to do people. Their refusal to our offer(s) is on them, God commands us to MAKE the offer.
See insights and ads
44
This Is Me, As I Am 
Leave a comment