Renewing Your Burden for Souls

From William @ http://reformingbaptist.blogspot.com

Something that is very heavy on my heart right now in ministry is my personal burden for the lost. It is also a huge concern I have for our church. One of the men in my church and I were talking the other day about a plan for church growth. Most of us in Fundamentalism are trying to get all kinds of new people in so we can grow from the outside, in. We talked about what it would take to grow from the inside, out! Loving eachother, getting the church to function like a true body of believers and from that love for eachother reaching out and bringing people in to a loving church family community.

At the same time, my heart is heavy about the lost outside our community right now! It is so easy to put on blinders and only worry about what's going on in our own churches without caring about what's going on in the lost wildreness of the world where people are ruining their lives, destroying their marriages, corrupting themselves and are on a fast track highway to hell.

I called my friend Bro. Dan Garlick from La Espada to just unload my heart about the matter. He agreed with me that easy-believism type of evangelism has hurt the cause of Christ, but guys like me who have rejected that kind of evangelism sometimes swing to the extreme opposite side of the spectrum and hurt our own efforts to reach the lost.

Here are some things that I am going to personally cultivate in my life to keep my heart for souls hot:

1. Look at the lost person as if you were him.

We may be on the saved side now, but we were not always there. At one time, we were blinded by the devil's lies and we wondered aimlessly in sin running from God and His love. You were just one in a trillion people on this planet who was no better than any of them, and because God set his unconditional love on you, you should love them unconditionally also.

2. Look at the effect sin has had on that person.

When I see the little gang banger punks walking around in my neighborhood, it is easy to resent their lifestyle and as a result, resent them personally. That is a totally wrong way of looking at them. They have been damaged by sin; and if they are not converted, they will only take that damage and spread it to their friends, family and children.

3. Anticipate their Conversion

Look at each person as if they might be the next person that God draws to himself through your witness. Anticipate God to His part if you're willing to do yours! Be active about it, search for every opportunity that may arise to share the gospel, or plant a seed in someones heart.

4. Always carry tracts, and literature with you

I can always count on my wife to have these when I don't! Get in the habit of carrying around some gospel tracts, and always be thinking of clever ways to present them to people. The "If you died today would you go to heaven?" line doesn't always work. That is all I have ever been taught, so it is what comes easy. However, there can be other ways of initiating the conversation in the midst of other conversations.

5. Don't be Afraid

What I tend to be most afraid of is offending them and turning them off. Well, the gospel if it is told correctly, is offensive! We have a "product" that nobody wants to "buy"; and that is why the gospel gets watered down and re-packaged so it is attractive. Do not get tempted to play down the wickedness of sin, the reality of hell so you can appeal to their want for heaven. Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to repent of their sin. Remember, it is the law of the Lord that converts the soul not your smooth talking! Use the law lawfully to expose their sin. Let them see it for themselves and draw their own conclusions. Do not PRESS for a decision if you feel that the person is resisting. Let what you gave them sink in a little and go back a little later for some more, but be careful that it is not your fear that keeps you from pressing for a decision. Very rarely is a person ready to be saved after a 5 minute conversation about salvation; but sometimes that person has already had the seed planted and the watering from elsewhere, and when you come across him, he's ripe and ready!

6. Be Content in Obedience to Christ

I know that we want to see results that are visible and immediate! I do! But, be content in your heart if you know that you have earnestly obeyed God from the heart by your witnessing. Understand that it is God who brings the increase, not you. You are responsible to plant seeds and water them. God will do his part if you obey.

7. Pray for Fruit

Everything we do should be bathed in prayer. We need to be completely dependent on His power to bring forth the fruit. So, get on your face before God and beg Him to produce the fruit since He's the only one that can do it! I'm sure God will give you a heart to lead lost souls to Himself if you want it bad enough to pray for it!