X

Joy to The World

_______________________________________

DAY 29

Philip obeyed. He went down to the road between Jerusalem and Gaza, the Spirit having led him there, and that’s all the Lord had told him to do. He went there and stood on the roadside, right out in the middle of the desert. There he flood and all of a sudden, along came a chariot pulled by horses; and there was a man in the chariot, and he had all sorts of goods and servants. There he was, and suddenly the Spirit said to Philip., “Go to that chariot and stay near it” (Acts 8.29). Probably there was a whole caravan, because it seems that this man was rich. He had been tending to business and there were probably several chariots, camels and all kinds of things. The caravan was passing by, and the Lord pointed out to Philip to go over and join that one chariot.

Here was Philip and the chariots going by, and the Lord showed him which one it was, and Philip ran forward. He ran beside the horses; and the man was reading an Old Testament scroll aloud. He was reading the Word of God but he didn’t understand what he was reading. (You’d better be in shape if you’re going to witness for the Lord, He might have you running alongside of some Jaguar some day!) And Philip said, “Do you understand what you are reading?’, and the man said, `How can I unless someone explains it to me?” (Acts 8.30-31). And the man invited him up.

We know that the chariot was still on the move because later on, when the man got ready for baptism, he demanded the chariot to stop. Now some of you think that that’s strange, and it is. But the Lord uses strange things for glory. It Was God’s way, and there may be some unusual things in witnessing that God wants you to do. But don’t worry about the critics, be concerned about the message and get out there and obey the Spirit.

________________________________________

DAY 30

In Acts Chapter 8, after Philip had got alongside the chariot, he asked the man, “Do you understand what you are reading?” (Acts 8.30). There was this Ethiopian eunuch; a man in charge of all the treasure of the Queen in Ethiopia; a man of great authority; an intellectual; a man of knowledge; a man of business and commerce; an educated person, and Philip asked him if he knew what he was reading. And the man said, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me! (Acts 8.31).

How can a person know Jesus unless somebody guides him. This is so essential for us and essential to understand. People need the gospel message explained. Many people do not understand about the Lord. Many scientists know how to get a man on the moon, but they don’t know to get their life together. They now know how to work or build computers, but they don’t know how to relate to their wife, or their children, or to their next-door neighbor. How will a person know how to be saved? The bible says that someone needs to tell them.

So Philip sat in the chariot with this man and began to speak. “Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8.35). This is what the world needs, Jesus. This man might have been able to run circles around Philip if they’d been discussing finance; he might have been able to run circles around Philip if they’d been discussing world geography, because Philip hadn’t travelled much. But when they started talking about spiritual things, Philip was the expert and this man was the one that needed to be taught. And the Scripture says that he taught him about Jesus, beginning with the Scripture that he was reading. As he taught, he used the word of God.

As you witness, I would encourage you to use the word of God. I like to show a person the Scriptures; the word of God, so that they understand and know that what I’m saying is from the Bible. We need to concentrate on Jesus Christ. There are many people who don’t understand the miracles; or how Jesus walked on the for example. But when you show them who He is; that He is God who came in the flesh. you teach about Jesus, you can see when know Jesus, because they understand that He has all the power in His hands; that He has the authority and the power to meet every need. Share Jesus with somebody today and spread the love of Christ all around the world.

________________________________________

DAY 31

I’m still looking at the life of Philip today, and seeing a beautiful story of how he witnessed. Philip preached to this intellectual man about Jesus and the man wanted to be baptized, and Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (Acts 8.37). Philip had done a good job.

Many of us have witnessed to people, but we haven’t really explained the gospel. Often we just drop little tidbits about Jesus and say that we trust they’ll come to church with us sometime. But, you need to zero right in and say, ‘I’ve been talking to you about Jesus, and right now, I want to ask you to pray, and I’ll lead you in prayer, you may receive Jesus as your Saviour.’ You need to invite that person to receive Christ. Many us have talked about Jesus, but never invited person to make a decision.

The man said, ‘I believe,’ and so they stopped the chariot where there was some water and Philip baptized him. Maybe it was some kind of an oasis, or whatever it was, Philip got down there and baptized him. Now look what happened. They went down into the water and when they came up out of the water the Spirit of the Lord caught up Philip and the eunuch never saw him again, and he went on his way rejoicing.

What about the follow-up? On the day of Pentecost we find that the new believers immediately joined the disciples and continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship. They got day by day nurture in fellowship. But here we find that immediately after the Ethiopian had been saved, and baptized, Philip was jerked away. Some people say that if you can’t really follow-up the person, then it’s a waste of time to lead him to Jesus. What happened here? It wasn’t Philip who decided to leave – the Spirit took him away. Sometimes, when you pray with a person who lives in another state or another country and there’s no way to get in touch, you go ahead and pray with them, and lead them to Jesus. If the Lord has brought you to them, that they might be saved, then God will strengthen them or bring somebody else to them so that they’ll be strengthened in the gospel. But lead people to Christ.

________________________________________

DAY 32

As I’ve been looking at the Witnessing life of the believers, one thing I noticed is in Acts Chapter 13. As they spoke and witnessed, they ran into some opposition, but notice these words, “When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.” (Acts 13.12). Here we see a man who was converted, not only because of what Paul said but also because of what he saw God doing and how he saw them living.

Every one of needs to be speaking the message of Jesus with our lips, but we also need to live a life that is radiant; transmitting the real beauty of God. A person looking into your face needs to see the radiance of Jesus, and when they see the way you love, the way you are, the Way you are sincerely interested in helping others, then they say that they believe there really is something to that because they see the way the person is living. Another thing we see is that their lives were full of hazards for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They were willing to jeopardize their lives and yet they were full of joy and full of victory.

In Chapter 14, I note one very important thing. Paul and the apostles had been witnessing and sharing about the Lord Jesus Christ, in the city Lystra, and we find that Paul was beaten and “They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the the disciples had gathered round him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe” (Acts 14.19, 20). And the Bible says in the next verse, “they preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra,” (Acts 14.21). Paul was stoned until his attackers thought he was dead, and then thrown out of Lystra, as a dead man. He must have been battered and beaten and bloody when lying outside the city, and yet the Bible says that he went back to the very same city and he preached.

People are still suffering and dying for Jesus, God has blessed us! Let us be full of His joy, and discover the privilege it is to hazard our life for the glory of God.

_____________________________________

DAY 33

The early disciples of Jesus always brought their message to a point of decision; they didn’t just speak the Word of God and witness. And in Acts Chapter 26 we see Paul brought before King Agrippa. Listen to these words. “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.” Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” Paul replied “Short time or long – I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains” (which meant that he was a captive in jail) (Acts 26.27-29). Paul was saying that he didn’t want the King to be almost, but altogether persuaded that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I urge you to look at these words in the Bible and note that as he witnessed, he brought his witness to a point of decision.

The early Christians also had a sensitivity to the people they talked to. When Paul was brought before king after king and trial after trial, when he was completely guiltless, and had no crime against him, and no reason to be there, he didn’t look at the judge or the king and say, ‘You dirty scoundrel, you ought to be in jail yourself for putting me in jail.’ You don’t see any bitterness. Instead Paul says, “I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense. and ‘especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies” (Acts 26.2, 3). Paul is kind of building up the guy’s ego. He’s saying that he knows he’s an expert in the field, so he can be sure of a fair trial. He honours the king, he says, ‘King Agrippa’ and he talks on and on to King Agrippa, and just as when he met Governor Felix, he speaks with kindness. Even when Paul preached on Mars Hill in Athens, proclaiming the Word about the unknown God, he started off at the people’s point of interest. He didn’t bitterly attack them, he shared and communicated.

We need to share the message of Jesus in Love, and beauty. That doesn’t mean that we’re wishy-washy and weak, or that we don’t have a powerful message of witness. It’s that person to person and individual to individual contact. We don’t just bulldoze over people, but we share with them what they need in their life. Sometimes Christians start screaming; getting loud in witnessing, and fussing. Loud voices don’t save anybody, it’s the Holy Spirit. Love the people, and share in gentleness and in love the message of Jesus Christ today.

_______________________________________

DAY 34

What I’m going to study now is difficult questions, and things people say as we share Christ with them. Many times a person will almost blow us away with, ‘I don’t believe in God,’ or ‘I’m an atheist,’ and we don’t know what to say. When somebody says that to me, I simply smile real big and say they’re smarter than that. I look at them, and say that they’ve got reasonable sense, that they know there’s a God. All of us know there’s a God. See, there are some people who say that they’re atheists just to shake you up and keep you from talking to them about the Lord. So I respond in that way and then say, ‘The Bible says….’ and just go right into the way of salvation.

There are other people who have sincerely deep doubts and questions as to whether there is a God or not, and so to that person we should share an answer. The Bible says, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’.” (Ps. 14.1). So a person who doesn’t believe in God is foolish in their mind. But perhaps when we enlighten people, to help them see, they then understand and receive the Lord.

I’ve led many people to Jesus who have said they’re atheists. Sometimes I’ll use an illustration, and say, ‘Look at this watch,’ and I’ll point to it and say, ‘Did this watch just happen or was it made? They’ll say, ‘Why, of course it was made,’ and I’ll say, ‘You see, a watch is a reflection of mind creativity and power. A person had to think of a watch and envisage it in his mind. A person then had to have creativity in order to make the moulds and the power – the power to it.’ I say, ‘This is like a reflection of the way God is. We look at the world around us and we this – we look at our body and our body is more complicated than a watch. So how can deny that our God didn’t make us or that has nothing to do with this? No, the very evidence of the universe declares the handiwork of God.’

Sometimes I’ll say, ‘It’s wonderful to be able to talk to you and to share with you. We can feel love and emotions, and we can have love for our wife and children and the world. We are made in order to have all these emotions, and the intricate mind and feelings that we have; made by a God who also has feelings, who can communicate; we’re made in His image and He wants you to know Him. You can know human love. You can talk with man but the ultimate is to know the love of God, to communicate with the Creator, and He’s interested in you and you can invite Him into your life. He has rebuilt Himself in Jesus Christ the Saviour. Receive Him.’ So don’t turn off when you speak to an atheist, turn him on to Jesus Christ.

________________________________________

DAY 35

As we begin to witness, Some people come right back and say, ‘But I’m too far gone there’s no way that God can save me.’ Over and over talk With people on skid row, I talk with people who are affluent, and millionaires, and yet their mind, they’ve done everything, they’ve been everywhere and they say, ‘But life’s not worth living – I’m too far gone, there’s nothing that can be done for me’. But listen to what the Bible says, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear” (Isa. 59. 1). If you haven’t sought the love and the outreaching arms of Jesus Christ, then it is this message that we as believers have the joy of sharing everywhere we go. People are not too far gone.

Look in the Bible where God took Moses, who really was a murderer, and used him to be the mighty leader of the children of Israel. God chose another man in the New Testament, who was persecuting the Christians and who consented to the murder and stoning of Stephen, and God called Saul and changed his name to Paul and he became a mighty leader of the early Church and wrote many of the books in the Bible. God delights in putting broken lives back together again.

Many of us look at ourselves in such despair the evangelist, the witness, the Christian, is to communicate the message, ‘No, you’re not too gone, God is right where you are.’ Jesus said, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice, and opens the door, I will go in and eat with him, and he with me,” (Rev. 3.20). So somebody tells you they are too far gone, don’t let that restrain you, share with them, that whoever calls on the name of the Lord, shall be saved. Whoever – that’s God calling. Whoever it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, how you’ve lived; you communicate with them the good news. It’s been one of the great joys in my life, to be able to go into the streets and bars and to all kinds of troubled people, and to declare to them that there is good news, there is hope. So I challenge you Christians, let’s go into this troubled world and let them know, people can be saved.

________________________________________

DAY 36

Have you ever met anybody who’s really good? I mean, they’re so good they tell you that they’re good enough, and that they don’t need the Lord. A lot of times when we’re sharing Jesus, somebody seems to sit there in their perfection and we don’t know what to say. We know how to talk to a person who’s really sinned a lot, but a person happens to say, ‘I’m in good shape, I don’t need the Lord,’ what do you say then. Well, there are many Scripture verses that could use, but I find that one of my favourites is in Jeremiah, “The heart is deceitful above things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer. 17.9). If somebody says that they don’t need God, they’re in good shape, and everything is together, I say, ‘but God says that the heart desperately wicked.’ Every one of us has sinned.

Sin is coming short of the glory of God; sin is turning from God to ourself, and every person has sinned against God. There is nobody who has ever perfectly lived up to their own standard. There is nobody who has ever perfectly lived up to society’s standard. And there is nobody, especially, who has lived up to God’s standard. And I have never had anybody say, ‘I’m as good as Jesus, I have worked the miracles that Jesus has worked, I have loved the way Jesus loved.’ We recognize that it is not our goodness that saves us, but it is the grace of God. Having come short of the grace of God; having come short of absolute and total perfection, we’re sinners. In my witness, most of the time, I find people will acknowledge their sin but sometimes I run across a person who says that they don’t need Him, they’re in good shape. In that situation, just come right back to the Scriptures; don’t condemn, don’t judge, just point out if they have ever in all their life done one thing that was less than perfect and they’ll say, ‘Certainly,’; you say, then we all need Jesus’.

Or I might say, ‘You didn’t make yourself did you?’ and they’ll say, ‘Oh, well, my mom and dad did,’ and I’ll say, ‘but they didn’t really know all the mechanics of how it works’. You see, we don’t understand all about creation, about how that which is not becomes that which is now – because God created it. God makes us and we’re responsible to God and we do need Him. We need Him because He is the one that made us, He is the one that keeps us alive. Many people say that they don’t believe in God and don’t want anything to do with Him. And people even curse Him; the atheist curses God with the breath that God gives, and with the strength that God gives him. If God removed His hand we would not even be dust, we would be nothing, not even one cell, not even one atom. And He is also the one who judges.

He does love us, and He does care for us. We need Him to give us the right perspective of life, we need Him to forgive us our sins we need Him to make heaven our home. We need Him to put His Spirit in us and fill us with His life, which is the greatest blessing in the world.

________________________________________

DAY 37

Have you ever shared Jesus with someone who was really interested when you told them about the Lord and love of Jesus Christ and then you’ve asked that person to receive Jesus Christ as their Saviour, and they have said to you, Oh, I don’t think that I need to receive him as my Saviour, but I love who Jesus was. He was a good man, and He said good things and He is my example.

One of the most prominent politicians in America, who was a Presidential candidate, said to me, ‘Jesus is my example, He is my standard of living, but I do not believe that He was resurrected. I don’t believe that he worked the miracles that He worked. he was a good man, the best m an the world has ever seen, and He lives through His ideas, as we live His ideas.’ But what if somebody says that to you? I always like to look back to the Scriptures and point out that Jesus Christ was not just a good man. He was either who He said He was, or He was the greatest deceiver and liar of all times. He was either the greatest fraud that ever walked this earth or He is Lord of all. He claimed to have miracles, have Him teaching about hell; have Him claiming that He was God; that He was going to be crucified and resurrected; that He was coming again. Anybody who would lie that much is not a good man. So. He was either a liar, deceived by His own self, or Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Now we know that He is the Son of God. How we know that He’s not like every other man and just a good man? Because He was born of virgin Mary, because He was conceived not the seed of man, but by the Holy Spirit. Isn’t that beautiful? He was conceived in the womb by the breathing of the Holy Spirit. Jesus lived without sin, never at fault in His whole life. Then again, Jesus worked mighty miracles that were seen by thousands and thousands of people. It was true, they saw His miracles. The critics of Jesus never accused Him of not working miracles. Those who tried to accuse Him of something, tried to say that He was doing it in the power of the devil, but they couldn’t refute His mighty miracles.

Jesus was unique in His resurrection, but not in His death. Sure, He was unique in that He bore our sins, but I mean from a worldly standard. Everybody dies, but Jesus was resurrected. He is alive. He ascended into heaven. Jesus Christ fulfills the Scriptures. We know that Jesus is not just a good man, we know that He is the man of history. He is the truth; the Bible declares that, and you can share with a person that they can receive Him into their life and know this Jesus as Lord, as a friend, as their closest companion. So, share with your friends about Jesus, and any of you that need to know Him and have never received Him, I invite You to ask life.
?________________________________

DAY 38

As I travel around and see the beauty of world, I see the reflection of God, but often I witness, and as you witness, we come across people who say, ‘Well, nature is my God, just nature. All I need is to get out for a weekend and I feel better, that’s all I need. That’s my God, nature’.
Many Christians don’t know how to witness to people who seem to be sensitive to nature.

What I see in a person really wrapped up in nature, is that they are responding to the reflection of God, but they need to know Him. Nature cannot save you. Birds and flowers and fish cannot wash away your sins, but Jesus can. Just listen to what the Bible says, “Now this is eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (Jn. 17.3). It’s necessary to know more than nature. Go from nature to the creator and point the way. The Bible says, “The heavens declare the glory of God,” (Ps. 19.1), and all the works that God made in this world reflect and show Him. So, we must come from the beauty of creation to the creator.

It is necessary to know the only true God, the God who made nature. And if you find joy and delight and beauty in nature, how much more thrilled you’re going to be with the God who created that nature. And so when I witness, and I point that out. I don’t condemn people for loving nature, but I Point out that as they experience this beauty, there is so much more that they can know, because although nature has its beauty, when we look at ourselves, and we’re a creation of God, we see our sin. So we’re not as pure. The Bible says over and over in Romans, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed”, and “we know that the whole creation has been groaning.” (Rom. 8.19, 22). And we so long for that peace, and Jesus Christ gives that peace. So if you love nature, look beyond nature and realize that God has manifested Himself in Jesus and that when we know Jesus, we know the creator of all, because the Bible says, “without Him nothing was made that has been made.” (Jn. 1.3). So you can know the God who created this world.

_______________________________________

DAY 39

Sometimes people will ask questions or give answers that really sidetrack you. So, this is what I’m dealing with now; how to answer a person who comes up with something that you don’t know how to deal with. Some people say ‘I’d like to be a Christian, but it just seems so confusing to me. I’m confused about religion’. Maybe it’s because my mind is so simple, but I have a happy relationship in my fellowship with God, because to me Christianity is very simple. It’s not confusing, it’s not complex, the Bible is very simple. It is a message from God to let you know He loves you. It’s a message from God to show us what’s gone wrong. It’s a message from God to tell us how it can be put right. It is God’s message of redemption that can deliver us from the turmoil we’re in.

Listen to this, and I believe you’ll be able to understand it, and use it when you witness. A lawyer was talking to Jesus and asked him, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Mt. 22.36). They had thousands of laws that they had to keep and it was very confusing. This man was saying, ‘Which one should I keep? I can’t keep them all, what do I do?’ And listen to what Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment” (Mt. 22.37, 38). Now is that confusing? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart” – that’s not confusing. It may be more difficult to do, it may take everything you’ve got, to do, but that’s what it’s all about Love your neighbor as yourself . All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments` (Mt. 22.40).

So Christianity is very simple. Jesus Christ is very centre of our faith. Without Jesus, there is no Christianity. Christianity is not rules and regulations and laws, it is a relationship with the person, Jesus Christ, who came in the flesh, lived, died, rose again and is ascended into the Father. And you can receive Him into your life and know Him, and that is the message the Christian is to share. It’s not confusing.

Now if you start talking about all the functions of your church and how you vote on all the procedures and all the doctrines and all the tricacies of the second coming, or all the different viewpoints of the millennium reign of Jesus, or the Judgement; people can get confused. The message is love Him with all your heart, and love your neighbour as yourself. Very simple, very powerful and totally the truth. So point people to Christ, invite people to know Jesus.

________________________________________

DAY 40

As I share Jesus Christ I run across people all the time who say, ‘I don’t want to become a Christian, I want to have fun’. Well I want you to know that I haven’t met anybody having half the fun I’ve had. There is more joy in living for Jesus one hour than all the pleasures of a lifetime.

I remember when I first started ministering in California. I met a bunch of the motorcycle riders and I saw the people on the streets, and I was sharing Jesus, but it seemed to conflict. And suddenly I realized that Jesus doesn’t turn us off, he turns us around. If you’ve got the desire to roam around at night, you don’t have to go to bed at eight p.m. just because you’ve become a Christian. You can witness in all places at night. Maybe you’ve got the spirit in you that you’ve always wanted to travel. Well, maybe you need to be an evangelist somewhere. Maybe you’ve the spirit of liking to rough it out in the mountains, camping out and everything. You become a Christian, and you can still do that, except maybe it’ll be as a missionary down in the jungles of the Amazon or in the heart of Africa. God doesn’t kill our minds when we become a Christian, He opens our heart and brings us into an even larger dimension of living. So when somebody says to you that they want to have fun, say, ‘Hey, that’s why you want to become a Christian, because there’s a joy that only God gives. There’s peace, there’s direction, there’s purpose, there’s forgiveness. You can have more fun if you know that when you die you’ll be going to heaven, than if you’re going to that other place. You can have more fun if you’ve got God’s Spirit in you than if you’ve got the devil in you, because what God gives you is for real, what the devil gives is a and doesn’t last.’ So share Jesus with joy and enthusiasm.

When Christ was praying, He said, “I say these things . . . so that they may have the full measure my joy within them” (Jn. 17.13). God wants joy in you. Again Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (‘n. 10.10). He wants us to have an abundant life. And the Bible says, ‘If you then.. . know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! (Lk. 11.13). God will give you His good gifts. We don’t have to be afraid of the will of God God knows what is best. God knows what will give you more fun and more joy.

The Bible says, “The way of the transgressor is hard’ There is no peace for the wicked. Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Mt. 11.28, 30). And, ” (surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age” Mt. 28.20). I could go on and on, showing that the Lord gives us more life. God doesn’t take away life, He knows how to give you what’s best.

________________________________________

DAY 41

Have you ever, as you’ve witnessed and shared Jesus Christ with somebody, heard, ‘But I don’t need to become a Christian, I’ve always been a Christian. I’ve never needed to repent of my sins and receive Jesus. I was born a Christian, I was confirmed, I was baptized. I was born one’? Do you know that you can’t be born a Christian? Everybody who is a Christian has been born the second time. Not just one time in the flesh, but a second time in the Spirit. Listen to the words of God, “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become the children of God – children born not of natural descent, not of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (Jn. 1.12, 13). The only way to be in the family of God is to experience a personal receiving of Jesus in your life. It is a decision that you must make.

But you say to yourselves, what about the children, what about the little babies, are they outside the family of God, will they be separated? I said,”Let the little children come to me, do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Mt. 19.14). And David, the man after God’s own heart, said words when his child died, “I will go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Sam. 12.23). The Bible indicates that those who are children are safe in the hands of God. They’re in the family of God, by grace, but they still have to be taught to be good; not to be selfish, to give and not to take.

We are all inherently, by nature, distorted and evil, yet at that moment – sometime whenever it is – I don’t know, but God knows, and the person knows, God holds us responsible for our life, and that very moment, we must be willing to receive Him as our Savior, then we take on the nature of God. So you don’t just become a Christian. It must be a willful decision, whereby you are determined that you want to turn away from living without Jesus, to live your life with Him. It may be the first time that you ever hear the Gospel. For me, as a child I loved the Lord and I’d been taught about Jesus from the time I was born. The first time that I felt that I was without Jesus I was seven. The first time I realized that I was a sinner and that I needed Jesus to forgive me and save me, I gave my heart to Him. Now at that moment, if I’d said ‘no’, then I would have been outside of the grace of God because I would have rejected that grace. So, encourage people to receive Jesus, and to be saved through faith in Him.

____________________________________

DAY 42

Many people say, ‘What about other religions? Do they need Jesus? Isn’t one way as good as any other?’ There is a very unique thing about being a Christian. It is different from all religions of the world. In most religions, except Christianity, it is man’s effort to get to get to God. Whatever the religious viewpoint, it is man doing something to find God; to discover God; to please God. It is man’s effort to achieve unity with God. And so basically it is a work religion, and many people who are involved, even in Christianity are in the same way. But in Jesus Christ, there is a uniqueness. In Jesus Christ we have God coming to us and doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. So in Christianity, we have God seeking to save us and not man seeking to save himself.

I’ve walked with a cross for many many years around the whole world, on every continent. And as I’ve gone with the cross into Buddhist countries, Hindu countries, Muslim countries and Jewish countries, people have seen me with a cross; and maybe there isn’t a Christian for miles around, and they come up, and ask what I’m doing. Often I feel that they’re going to be antagonistic at all. I say that I’m carrying the cross to remind them of the love of Jesus Christ. And people thousands of miles away in distant lands ask ‘Who is Jesus? I don’t know much about him,’ or ‘I’ve never heard of him,’ or ‘I’ve heard a little about him.’ People are interested in Jesus, so I share about Christ.

I don’t meet a person of another religion and say instantly that I’m going to convert them, and they’re going to give up being of their faith, give up their religion, to be a Christian. If I did that, they would start defending their religion, even if they hardly believe in it or didn’t practice it. They would just start defending it But what I say is that ‘I want to share about Jesus Christ, who was born and conceived in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit, and lived without sin’. And I ask them if they know why He died on the cross. And people often say, ‘No, I’ve wondered about that’. So I explain why He died on the cross, and I share the gospel of Jesus Christ. The message of salvation to everyone who believes. “Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4.12).

So I talk about the person of Jesus Christ. I talk about the message of the Bible. And if someone says they’re of this religion, I say, ‘Oh, well, that’s wonderful to know that you’re interested in your relationship with God.’ And I say, ‘I want to show you and tell you a few things about Jesus, because through Him, we can get to know God personally, and He will live in you and be your Savior forever.’ So don’t fear, let that be cast out.