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The simple purpose of this broadcast is to encourage you, exhort you, and motivate you to share your faith in Jesus Christ with those who are lost around you. Even though we will share some instructions on how to witness for the Lord from time to time, we believe that most Christians do not need to learn how to witness for the Lord, they just need to go and do it; so our aim is more motivational than instructional.
Our soul winning passage from the Word of God today is 1 John 3:17 which reads: “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”
Allow me to share with you some important insights regarding this Scripture from David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible:
If you have the capability to meet a brother’s needs, and do nothing to meet that need, then how can you say you love that brother? How does the love of God abide in you?
Here is a test of this love; if we do not divide our bread with the hungry, we certainly would not lay down our life for him. Whatever love we may pretend to mankind, if we are not charitable and benevolent, we give the lie to our profession.
What is the limit to this kind of love? The only limit is the one that love itself imposes. When giving to a person, meeting their perceived or immediate need, does them harm instead of good – then the loving thing to do is to not give them what they ask for, but to give them what they really need instead.
Our soul winning quote today is from Bill Hybels. He said: “When action-oriented compassion is absent, it’s a tell-tale sign that something’s spiritually amiss.”
Our soul winning devotional is part 65 of our series titled “What Evangelism Is” from Dave Earley and David Wheeler.
Evangelism Is…Being the Change You Wish to See In the World (Part 4)
“You Did It to Me”
In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus tells of the future judgment on humankind, separating the righteous from the cursed. This passage is often used at homeless shelters and ministry boards to remind believers that reaching the world through ministry is glorifying to Christ. He states:
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Notice the last five words in this passage: “You did it to Me.” When they fed the hungry, clothed the needy, cared for the sick, and visited the prisoner, they were serving Jesus! The righteous were unaware they had done these things for Jesus. Instead, it was a way of life for them to go out and love their neighbor as commanded. The humility and kindness of the righteous was a direct reflection of their hearts for ministry and their desire to love others. This is never far from the heart of God.
Do It With Love
Agnes Bojaxhiu spent her adult life ministering to the poor, the sick, the orphaned, and the dying among the poorest of the poor in the horrific slums of Calcutta, India. When she started an open-air school for slum children, she was joined by voluntary helpers. Financial support began to come in as she loved and cared for those persons nobody was prepared to look after.
Later known as Mother Teresa, she was given the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 “for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress.” Not surprisingly, she refused the conventional ceremonial banquet given to laureates and asked that the $192,000 funds be given to the poor in India.
In speaking about what it took to love poor, sick, orphaned beggars, she always spoke of the love involved in giving. Her example makes her words more powerful. She said, “Intense love does not measure; it just gives.” She also said, “It is not how much we do but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give but how much love we put in the giving.”
In speaking of serving lowly people, she said, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” When asked about why she could serve so tirelessly, she replied, “Love cannot remain by itself; it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action, and that action is service.”
When asked how she could love such filthy, stinking, mean, helpless, hopeless people, Mother Teresa simply answered, “Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.”
In our next broadcast, we will continue looking at why evangelism is…Being the Change You Wish to See In the World.
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Dear friend, if you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, may I encourage you to get to know Him today. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can be a part of the church in this life and in the life to come. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will. Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Until next time,
Keep the soul winner’s fire!
Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in twenty-three foreign countries. He is the author of thirty-four books. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry which publishes a monthly magazine called The Torch Leader. He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts, The Prayer Motivator Devotional and the Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report and the Second Coming Watch Update. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, and a Master’s degree in Religion from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica for twenty-five years. God has blessed their union with seven children. Find out more at www.danielwhyte3.com. Follow Daniel Whyte III on Twitter @prophetdaniel3 or on Facebook.
BCNN1 WP 