It’s not just a verse,it’s the answer!

Artwork and logos used by courtesy of Max Lucado Ministries

Week 1

Look below the surface and see that the person you are witnessing to is basically Adam,

naked and running for cover

Respect non-ChristiansWe will often mention non-Christians, but we do so without any feeling of superiority. After all, each of us was once non-Christian. And in the following we can only speak of typical reactions and motives. When witnessing, we must listen carefully both to the person and to the Holy Spirit to see how we should tailor what we say to meet that person’s specific needs. The Spirit alone fully understands the person and has the answers to humanity’s deepest needs.

ConvictionWhen Adam and Eve sinned, the first indication that they were under conviction was that their eyes were opened and they knew that they were naked.

Conviction is God in his mercy opening our eyes to the reality of our spiritual condition. Without it we would be blissfully unaware that we are sinners. We’d be on our way to hell and not even know it.

When we’re under conviction there are the two possible reactions:

1. Seek God for forgiveness.

2. Try to squirm our way out of our guilt.

We know Adam’s choice and, being the father of all humanity, we can expect his reaction to be similar to all human reaction.

Adam tried to minimize his shame by:

Trying to cover his nakedness Running from God, and trying to hide from him

Trying to blame others for his sin – Eve and God (And Eve blamed Satan).

Virtually all objections to Christianity fit these categories.

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Covering upUsing fig leaves, Adam and Eve did their best to cover up, desperately trying to hide the extent of their shame. Non-Christians today try to cover up and hide the extent of their moral shame. ‘I’m as good as the next guy,’ they say. That’s probably true, but what a pathetic way to try to minimize our guilt.

Another way in which people attempt to cover up their moral shame is by putting on an air of respectability and/or engaging in lots of good deeds, such as church involvement.

HidingNext, Adam tried to run and hide from God. When we’re witnessing, people often say things that indicate they are running from God – that they won’t face Him and dialog with Him. ‘There is no God,’ say some. They won’t even face the fact that there is a God that they are answerable to. Other responses include:

Don’t ram religion down my throat, you Bible-basher! All religions are much the same.

It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere.

What most people really mean when they say such things is, ‘I don’t even want to think about God.’

Another way people run from God and stop themselves from thinking about him is to cram their lives with so much activity that they have little chance to think about life’s most important issue.

When we are witnessing, people often throw in a question like, ‘Where did Cain get his wife?’ Such questions are usually just a ploy to get the conversation off their need for God. They are trying to duck for cover again. If we don’t realize this we’ll end up unwitting accomplices in their escape plan. We’ll think we’re witnessing, when they’ve actually stolen our witnessing opportunity. Their escapism could end in eternal tragedy. That’s why what we’re examining in this webpage is so important. We need to get below the surface questions to understand what’s happening at the spiritual and heart levels. That’s where the action is.

It’s too easy to be content with dealing with superficial issues when witnessing. For instance, some Christians have complained that I don’t go into Creation Science deep enough. But rather than focus on the ages of

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rocks, I believe God is more glorified, and people more helped by talking about the Rock of Ages.

Blaming OthersWhen finally cornered, Adam tried to blame another human. Common ways people of today try to blame other people are:

It’s not my fault I had rotten parents. The church is full of hypocrites.

And Adam blamed God. (‘The woman you gave me.’) Here’s some of things people say to blame God:

If God made me, my sinfulness is his fault. If there were a God of love the innocent wouldn’t suffer (i.e. God

is as morally corrupt as I am).

Guilt, like pain, is a lonely thing. It makes us want to drag as many people down with us as we can. The biggest intensifier of guilt is the thought that someone is more moral than you. It implies we could have done better. That makes it so important to muddy other people. That’s the pleasure of gossip and slandering the church. People know they stand guilty before a holy God. One of the few sources of comfort they can get is to reassure themselves that no one has done any better.

DenialThe critical point is that all of the above things are a reaction to guilt.

The reason people don’t flock to Jesus is not because people believe in evolution, nor because they think there are errors in the Bible. The reason, in the words of Scripture is that they love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. It’s astounding: people prefer darkness – ignorance. Why? Because the truth exposes their sin. It reveals that they stand shamefully naked in the presence of Almighty God, to whom they must one day give account. They want to run from that and live in denial. If we can understand what’s going on inside them, we’ll be much better equipped to help them.

Clever arguments will never win anyone for Jesus. The god of this world, said Paul, has blinded the eyes of unbelievers. That’s a huge area we won’t explore here, but it shows the critical importance of prayer and spiritual warfare. Someone said, ‘Prayer is the battle.’ Other ministry is just mopping up after the battle is won. 2

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2. Personal Evangelism The Astounding Power of Simple Witnessing

© Copyright, Grantley Morris, 1998, 2002.

Week 2

Countering People’s Reluctance to Face God

Let’s examine the reasons why people run from God.

1. They fear judgment

That’s why we need to explain as fully and as quickly as we can (before they run off) the good news that through Jesus, God offers them love, forgiveness, and full acceptance. It is also most important that they be convinced that we in no way feel superior to them.

2. They want to remain in sin

To understand this, let’s again go back to basics and see why Eve sinned.

Satan constantly maligns God in the minds of Christians and non-Christians alike. So we need to keep setting the record straight in our own minds and in the minds of the people we witness to. God is the most wonderful Person in the universe. (An example of an attempt to portray this is You can find love.) The all-powerful, infinitely wise Lord is unselfishly and totally devoted to maximizing our eternal happiness. He is the Source of every good thing we have ever experienced. Even the fleeting pleasures experienced while rebelling from him are possible only because he created us with the capacity to experience pleasure. In the final analysis, God’s will is the most exciting, fulfilling thing anyone could ever do. (A brief webpage that attempts to expound this is Enjoying God’s Will for You. For a list of some of the benefits of becoming a Christian, see What’s in it for me?)

This must not, however, be taken to the extreme of making the Christian life seem like a picnic. Christ emphasized both the need to stop sinning and the cost of becoming a Christian. Avoidance of these issues when presenting the Gospel would render our witnessing un-Christ like.

Another reason why people want to remain in their sin is that they are so bound by sin that they fear giving it up. In the words of Jesus, the person who sins is a slave to sin. They could even think it impossible to give up their sin. They need to know the good news that Jesus can break the power of their habits and set them free.

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An obvious motivator to help people leave their sin is reminding them of the eternal consequences of remaining in their sin. Billy Graham calls becoming a Christian, ‘making a decision.’ How can anyone make an informed decision without knowing the most important consequence of making the wrong choice? I do not feel I have adequately presented the gospel unless I mention hell. Modern Christians, in stark contrast to Jesus, are so frightened to mention hell that fewer and fewer non-believers imagine that even Christians seriously believe in it. I suppose we are afraid it will cause non-Christians to run from God even faster, but hell becomes something positive when linked with the fact that a loving Savior is yearning to save people from hell’s horrors.

Bringing it All Together

When people put up objections, we can give brief answers, but we need to see that their intellectual arguments are primarily a smokescreen for something much more basic. They stand guilty before a holy God and they know it. So they do everything to try to run and hide from it and to turn the spotlight from their dirty conscience onto other things.

Above all, we need to remember that there are no formulas in witnessing. Jesus is Savior, not us. As we reach out to those who need him, we need to rest in him and let God be God.

The greatest thing we can ever do for someone is to introduce a person to Jesus. So, at least in our consciousness, we need to fade from the picture, and let Jesus and that person talk. We need to listen attentively to both parties and simply be the catalyst, not the focal point.

Think on that and see how it influences your witnessing. 2

2. Personal Evangelism The Astounding Power of Simple Witnessing

© Copyright, Grantley Morris, 1998, 2002.

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Week 3 it’s not Just a verse, It’s the answer!

The Giver“For God so loved the world…”(NIV)"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. For God came not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believes on him is not condemned, but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God"; John 3:16-18

The great 16th verse of this scripture begins with the words "For God". The whole premise and focal point is the action of God . What has the Father done? He has loved and He has given. God is a giver and His love motivates and initiates His giving.

The Gift“His one and only Son…”(NIV)The 16th verse shares the purpose of God's giving. It is to demonstrate His love for us in providing everlasting life. The Father's purpose is redemptive. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…(NIV)

The Recipient“that whoever believes in Him…”The key to understanding that second part, is in the word, "whoever". Who is whoever? Whoever is me, and whoever is you. What do we have to do? We have to believe that Jesus' death and His resurrection is all that's needed to give us eternal life in place of eternal death. We have–real life is......a life of purpose...a life of true joy...and a life that will have no end.

So it could be read like this, “Anyone who trusts in Christ, or clings to Christ, or relies on Christ, never perishes, is never lost, never comes to destruction, but has eternal life.”

The Reality “should not perish…”Perishing Means Being Under the Wrath of God John 3:18, "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already." The issue is not merely dying, but being judged by God. John 3: 36 is the most sobering of all in this gospel: "He who

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believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

What this shows us is that if we are rescued from perishing, it is because the love of God has rescued us from the wrath of God. To perish means that we remain under the wrath of God because we will not trust Christ.

Perishing Means Fiery Torment In one of John's other books, the Revelation (14:10), he describes the one who is perishing like this:

“He will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”

Perishing is not, as some say, going out of existence. It is staying in existence and suffering in the fiery torments of hell.

Perishing Means Separation from the Glory of God

Paul describes the perishing in 2 Thessalonians 1:9,

“These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and

In hell the perishing will be cut off from God for eternity.

Perishing Is Everlasting and Irreversible Here in John 3:16 it's the opposite of eternal life. Jesus calls it "eternal punishment" in Matthew 25:46. In Luke 16:26 he says there is a great chasm fixed between heaven and hell, so that no one goes from one to the other. Perishing is eternal and irreversible. Perishing means wrath; it means fiery torment; it means separation from God; and it lasts forever.

The Reward“… but have everlasting life.”When you accept that you are a sinner, that Jesus died for your sins and you place your faith in Christ alone for your salvation, you will be saved. When you receive Jesus as Savior and Lord you become a child of God and have a personal relationship with God for eternity.

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Week 4 The Gospel According to You

Unchurched Harry and Mary are a lot like many Americans today. People who are trying to fight the traffic, pay the bills and eke out a living in today’s uncertain economy. They are "nice" people. They don’t throw wild parties, ruin the neighborhood, or threaten others with bodily harm — but they probably haven’t been to a church for years, except to attend weddings and funerals. They are the unchurched.

As Christians, we are expected—sometime, somehow—to share our faith with people like Harry and Mary. If Jesus Christ lives inside us, then we have little choice. Once, in a letter defending his own ministry, the apostle Paul showed that all Christians participate—to one degree or another—in God’s intentions to reconcile the world to himself: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).

Paul created a vivid analogy for this part of our Christian job description: "We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.… As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain" (2 Corinthians 5:20; 6:1). We are to yield to God, allowing him to make his appeal to this hurting world through us. It’s a humbling assignment, isn’t it? Thankfully, God’s Word and real-life Christian examples can help train us for the task.

Evangelism Most Personal Charles Swindoll explained personal evangelism: "The skeptic may deny your doctrine or attack your church but he cannot honestly ignore the fact that your life has been changed. He may stop his ears to the presentations of a preacher and the pleadings of an evangelist, but he is somehow attracted to the human-interest story of how you—John Q.

Public—found peace within" (Come Before Winter, page 43). The gospel according to you—it’s one of the best weapons in your Christian arsenal.

When we are first convicted by the gospel, we are almost bubbling over with enthusiasm for what we have learned. We want to share it with those close to us. And we find out fairly soon that some will respond and

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some won’t. It seems that rule one in sharing your faith with the unchurched is to not be easily discouraged. Even in Jesus’ parable of the sower, much seed fell by the wayside (Matthew 13:3-7).

We are best able to influence those closest to us, those with whom we have more credibility than the hit-and-run style of evangelism. But you won’t win them all. Remember, Jesus was crucified between two thieves. One responded. One did not. Even Paul, arguably the greatest missionary in history, didn’t always convince the skeptics. "When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, ‘We want to hear you again on this subject’" (Acts 17:32).

In Acts 28:1-6, for example, we see Paul being regarded first as a murderer and then as a god. That is an insight into real-life evangelism. It is hard to predict how people will respond. Christians know this, but because they really care about people and their hurts and fears, they try to stay open to the opportunities God provides for effective witness. "Seize the moment" might have been coined as a slogan for personal evangelism. My challenge has been to learn to build personal evangelism into my Christian walk as an ongoing experience.

Letters from Christ Most people you will share your faith with want the gospel according to you. You don’t even need to know how to read and write to be an effective ambassador for Christ. It is how we live our Christian lives as employees, neighbors and family members—these are our credentials. The apostle Paul was pleased that his converts were "a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (2 Corinthians 3:3).

People open up to people they know. And in this unpredictable and uncertain world, we can expect personal and social troubles keyed to the crises of life—a bout with cancer or the office reaction to a recent disaster, for example. These real-life events can create the seedbed for Christian witness to flower. As Peter wrote, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15). Having Christ in us makes us different. Over time, that difference stands out. 3

3. L Earle Copyright 1996

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Week 5How Bright Is Your Light

You Are The Light of the World

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12 (NIV)

John the Baptist, the wandering visionary who declared Jesus’ coming.

John writes about Jesus as light in a quote referring to John the Baptist, the wandering visionary who declared Jesus’ coming. “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” John 1:6-9

Fallen man in darkness, is unable to see his sins because there is no light to reflect on them. That doesn't mean the sins are not there, just that they need light to be shed on them to be seen. Jesus, the” Light of the world”, does just that. He lights the way to eternal life. When a person accepts Him, He fills that person with light and creates a beacon through that person to the rest of the world lost in darkness.

1. The light reveals truth about Christ himself. The Pharisees, as we read in John 8, had a problem with Jesus’ claim about himself. They wanted to argue by way of a legal standpoint. They wanted to discuss, not believe. They wanted a legal battle, not a saving moment. But Jesus confidently stated the truth about himself. John realized the truth, so he said, "Look, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."

2. The light also reveals the truth concerning the way of salvation. John 8:12 says, "Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." This means life in all its fullness. It means eternal life! It comes not by accepting a set of standards to follow, nor by our promise to be good. Eternal life is not inherited by birth, but by receiving Jesus. You trust in what he has done on the cross for you. You trust that he has now left his Holy Spirit to guide and empower you for service. John 1:12 says, "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." We can look to Jesus as someone who came to this earth to do great things and provide

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some humanitarian relief, but that won’t save us. We must open up our hearts and receive him. Give thanks for your Savior! Believe that He can change the heart of the most hardened sinner.

3. The light causes growth. As we take in the truth and the presence of Jesus, we grow and mature just as plants need sunlight to grow. The presence of Jesus in us changes us and purifies us. We blossom with godly character. We become rooted in the truth to withstand the storms and every wind of doctrine. And inside we are filled with joy, and thankfulness, and peace. Growth comes by being guided by the light of Jesus in us. Jesus, who is also the Word, "is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Ps. 119:105). There is a simple story of a man who drove his team and wagon swiftly and safely on a road through a dark forest. Afterward he was asked how he knew where all the trees were along the road so that he could miss them as he drove the narrow road. He replied that he did not know where they were. He added, "I looked up at the opening between the tree tops and knew that if I followed the light above I could be safe." And that is how we find our way on our spiritual journey, we look to Jesus. When Jesus enters our hearts, it is no longer I who guides my life, but Jesus leads me. Today Jesus is our light like the pillar of fire and cloud that led the Israelites through the wilderness.

4. The fourth way the light affects us is that it gives reassurance. Like the light of the sun which warms us creating a place of peace, Jesus, the Light, brings us to a place of peace. We gain peace because the burden of sin is lifted and the path through life and to our eternal home is clear and sure and all mapped out for us. It is like the comfort of seeing the light in the window of one’s own house after being gone.

Not only does Jesus light our way – He removes our blinders and gives us light to the truth. “I once was blind, but now I see…”(Amazing Grace)! No longer do we need to walk around in spiritual darkness. Jesus brings the blessed light of the Gospel to us and sheds that light in our cold, dark and sinful hearts. Once we see our sin for what it really is, the way God sees it, we realize we are completely lost - we realize we are in utter darkness and deserving of hell. Jesus is our source of Light.

This is what Christ purchased on Calvary—a people who would be with Him so that He could show them His glory. When He delivers us from sin's

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darkness, an amazing thing happens: Our eyes are unveiled to see what we were created for, what we've longed for without knowing it. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6

"As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (John 9:4-5 NIV)

Jesus specifically asked us to join Him in dispelling the darkness now as He dispelled the darkness before Creation. Not by preaching at it, but in this way, “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” You and I are the best argument in a dark world that there is a God who has given meaning to life if we shine where we are.

As the light of the world, are you shining brightly, or burning out? Do men see the brightness of the Christ, who is the true Light of the world, coming through, or the dullness of half-hearted service to God? Are you a city set on a hill, or hidden in a valley? Have you lit the lamp, only to hide it from its true potential, or perhaps even snuffed out what light was there? Or, have you maximized your efforts and service before God and men, to bring glory to the Father and souls to salvation? Such was the course of our Lord. Such is the course He would choose for us too. 1

1. From sermon prepared by Rev. Kevin Vryhof, High River, AB

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Week 6 The Greatest Commandment

Someone once asked Jesus which command was the most important. He answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:36-38). Our relationship with God ought to be characterized by complete devotion.

Our need for grace

But who is able to keep this commandment completely? We all fall short. Yet in his grace, God not only forgives our failure, but also transforms us and works in us to make us righteous in Christ.

The fact that we fall short leads us to appreciate God’s mercy and grace all the more. Without grace, we could not hope for a victorious life in Christ, for on our own, we are helpless to live in the love of God. But grace gives us hope and meaning in our walk with Christ. Grace encourages us to live in Christ, because it teaches us that righteousness is God’s gift to us in his Son (Titus 2:11-14).

Even while we were enemies, God sent his Son to die and be raised for us. God’s indescribable generosity toward us gives us reason and motivation to love him.

We gratefully give our lives in willing service to God, not out of the demands of law, but out of his love in us. Demands never produce love. Love produces love. God gave himself for us because he loves us, and our response is rooted in his love, not in his law, which could never save us (Romans 3:20-26).

Through no goodness of our own, we have been rescued from death and given eternal life. The more we realize how much God loves us, even though we deserve death, the more we are thankful for his grace, and the more glad we are to live for him. The more we know God, the more we love him, because he lives in us. "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

Obedience motivated by love

There is no limit to the love God has for us, who gave us his own Son in whom we have died to sin and now live in righteousness. "If you love me," Jesus said, "you will obey what I command" (John 14:15). If we know Christ, we obey his commands (1 John 2:3-4).

Jesus did not say, "If you obey me, then you will love me." It never works that way. Obedience does not lead to love. But love does lead to obedience. The more we know Christ and rest in his love, the more we freely obey him. But striving to obey God without first knowing him and

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trusting in him for love and grace produces guilt, frustration and a judgmental heart.

Obedience is the fruit of knowing God for who he really is—the one who loves us unconditionally and who places his love in us through Christ.

John wrote: "This is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love" (2 John 6). Obedience to God springs from love. That’s why love is the greatest commandment.

Obedience grows in the garden of God’s love. Knowing God and trusting him to love us despite our sins, as he has already proven in Christ (Romans 5:10), motivates us to obey him.

The greatest commandment tells us that love should motivate everything we do. And yet we fall short in our motives. Sometimes we do right for the wrong reason. Perhaps we are afraid of what the neighbors might think, or what other Christians might think, or what the pastor might think. We want others to think well of us, so we do right, but our motive is essentially self-centered.

Sometimes we do right because we think God will punish us if we don’t. That may be true (he chastens every child he loves), but it is a substandard motive for obeying our Creator. This is like the obedience a slave gives.

Other people do the right thing because they think they’ll be blessed for it—they obey because they think God is paying them to do it. Their relationship with God is like that of a servant instead of a member of the family. It’s better than not obeying at all, but it is less than the love relationship, the intimate fellowship with him, that God wants for us.

Acceptable to God

If we are in Christ, if our faith is in him, then we are acceptable to God. "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).

God’s grace is sufficient. We may fall 490 times, and yet God forgives (and he doesn’t keep count). Sometimes we don’t even know what we are doing, and we don’t realize we need to quit, but God forgives our ignorance.

Is God too merciful? Maybe it seems that way sometimes. The Pharisees thought that Jesus was too merciful. And yet Jesus demanded more than they did. He told his disciples to take up a cross and follow him, to forsake everything and be willing to die for him.

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Jesus walked to the cross by himself, forsaken by all his disciples, to die for us. What a precious gift! Though we deny Christ at times, as Peter did, God restores us, as he did Peter.

We are witnesses of Christ, as Peter was, and we sometimes get caught in hypocrisy, as Peter did. But in the end, we have God’s assurance that he is faithful in his undying love for us and that he promises us eternal life in Christ, as he did Peter.

The greatest commandment helps us see the gospel. It tells us that we have an unlimited obligation to the one who is unlimited in his love and grace for us. Our life is a gift of God. The more we know God the more we love him, and the more we love him the more it is our pleasure to serve him and do his will. And his will, of course, is that we love him, that we trust him, that we have faith in him, and that we have eternal fellowship with him in his Son.

The Greatest Commandment leads to the Greatest Commission.

The Greatest Commandment.“Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'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. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" Matthew 22:34-40 (NIV).

The first is…

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'

Here are six ways that Jesus taught us to express and demonstrate our love for God:

Know and Obey God's Commandments Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. (NIV, John 14:21)

Trust in God and Jesus Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. (NIV, John 14:1)

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Put God Above All Else"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." (NIV, Luke 16:13)

Be Committed Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." (NAS, Matthew 16:24-26)

Be Humble before God and Men … the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (NIV, Matthew 18:1-4)

Make Time for Prayer "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened. "Or what man is there among you, when his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone? "Or if he shall ask for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? " If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! (NAS, Matthew 7:7-11)

The second is…

The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (NIV, Mark 12:28-31).

How much do you love yourself? What lengths are you willing to go to make sure you are safe from danger, eating regularly and sleeping under a good roof?

So I am assuming that you are showing that kind of love to all your “neighbors.”

Then the question becomes, “Who do you mean by “neighbor”?

The Parable of the Good SamaritanBut he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

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In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.

A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.

The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." (NIV, Luke 10:25-37)

The Greatest Commission

The Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread his teachings to all the nations of the world.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore 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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" Matt 28:17-20 (NIV).

The command itself is prefaced with Jesus’ statement that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him. Obviously, this authority had to be given by God the Father. Together with the witnessed miracle of the resurrection, this was the ultimate fulfillment, ratification, verification and acknowledgement that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. It was made with authority that was undeniable and beyond contestation.

The Great Commission - A Personal CallingIn the Great Commission, Jesus calls every Christian to step out in faith and spread the Good News. This is faith in action!

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For God so love the world, that He gave His one andonly Son, that whoever believes in Him, will not

perish but have everlasting life. - John 3:16

Heaven is forever!

The Giver – For God so loved the world"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9 The word grace means God is offering you something you could never provide for yourself: forgiveness of sins and eternal life. God's gift to you is free. You do not have to work for a gift. All you have to do is joyfully receive it.

The Gift - He gave his one and only SonThe Bible teaches us that God is love. God’s love sent you the greatest gift ever given and that is Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, who paid the penalty for all your sins. "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8

The Reward - but have everlasting life.When you accept that you are asinner, that Jesus died for your sinsand you place your faith in Christalone for your salvation, you willbe saved. When you receive Jesusas Savior and Lord you become a child of God and have a personal relationship with God for eternity.

The Recipient - whoever believes in HimJesus Christ wants to have a personal relationship with you. But His gift of forgiveness and eternal life cannot be yours unless you willingly accept it. God requires an individual response from you and that you have a clear understanding of the fact that you are a sinner.you must ask for forgivenessof you sins and commit your lifeto following Jesus Christ.

The Reality - shall not perish"For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 6:23

If you continue to sin, you will pay the penalty of spiritual death. You will not only die physically; you will also be separated from God for all eternity. Those who choose to

remain separated from God will spend eternity in hell.

People who obey this command change their spiritual lives forever! It could be spreading the Good News to a neighbor or moving to another country to reach the people there. It could be sharing with less fortunate kids down the street or spreading the Word in a town two hours away.

Wherever we go, every faithful Christian is compelled through obedience to share the Gospel. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, where has He called you to go? Who has God put on your heart to share the gift of salvation? His statement is clear and concise; it left no doubt in the minds of those who heard what their purpose was to be. The imperative message, “go”, was a direct command to those who believed in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior that they were to travel wherever necessary to spread the message of the love of Christ.

For God So Love the World….