About forty years ago my nominally Hindu father was diagnosed with a terminal illness and given three weeks to live. That prognosis brought such grief and shock, but even more distressing for me was the realisation that unless my father put his faith in Jesus in the short time he had left, he would spend eternity in hell. So I did the only thing I knew to do. I began to urgently pray and fast for his salvation. A few others joined with me in this and by God’s grace it wasn’t long before my father gave his heart to Jesus, and soon after he passed away into His presence. From that day on God deposited into my heart a passion to reach the lost and a faith that says no one is beyond the reach of the gospel.
However saving the world is not that easy. In the 30 plus years I have been pastoring in West Auckland I’ve seen good growth in the church, but I’m continually challenged by the fact that there are not a lot more Christians in West Auckland now than when I started. I’m sure this scenario is being played out across the nation. I need, and we all need, a vision that goes beyond church growth, a vision to see great numbers of people in this country saved. I long to see the fulfilment of Acts 6:7. “The word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly.”
Not only in this nation but in the nations of the world. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus said, “go and make disciples of all nations…” In Mark 16:15 He said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel”. These words apply to all believers so let us all take to heart the reality that our families, our workmates, our neighbours and our friends make up the harvest field God has placed us in. As we go to school we are to make disciples, as we go to work, as we go to get a haircut, everywhere we go, we are to make disciples.
Let me encourage you with a personal example. A number of years ago my elderly neighbour had cancer. My wife and I prayed for him and on one occasion he was deeply impacted by the presence of God. As a result of that prayer he attended our church one Sunday morning, and after the message he struggled up the front to give his heart to Jesus. Six weeks later he too passed away and went into the presence of Jesus. I was asked to take his funeral, and sad as his passing was, the funeral was a great opportunity to sensitively present the gospel to hundreds of unbelievers.
Four keys to reaching lost people:
Just do it! Do anything. As you leave a cafe place a gospel tract on the table. Run past letterboxes and drop good news tracts in. Do anything.
Find your own style of evangelism. There’s a book called “I Hate Witnessing”. The author says that if we try to copy others in witnessing we probably will hate it, so we need to find a style that works for us.
Pray for souls. As well as opening hearts and making us more effective, praying for the unsaved will increase our passion for the lost and we so need that. The great missionary, CT Studd, said, “some want to live within the sound of church and chapel bell, I’d rather run a rescue shop within a yard of hell”.
Focus on family and friends. Surveys tell us that most people are saved through the influence of family and friends.
In Luke 10:2 Jesus said, “the harvest truly is great, but labourers are few; therefore pray Lord of harvest to send out labourers into His harvest”. We see in this verse that there’s no problem with the harvest, the problem is not enough labourers. Let’s make it a personal goal to swell their ranks.
Blessings
Tak Bhana
Tak Bhana is senior pastor of Church Unlimited. He hosts Running with Fire radio and television ministry that reaches thousands globally each week. Tak is a strong supporter of PK and a popular keynote speaker.