Thoughts for Life: #67 Leading a Person to Christ

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel: Often in witnessing you do not have an obvious opportunity to lead the person to a personal experience of Christ. Look for opportunities to do so.

Don't be timid about bringing people to the point of decision, especially when you sense God is near as you witness. If you help them receive Christ, in heaven they will thank God and you that you were faithful to them. (Google image, Talking with someone).

Every Christian should know the bare essentials of personal evangelism. If you happened upon an accident and a person was alert but near death, could you lead him to the assurance of salvation?

You must know how to be concise and prepared for any emergency. Don't hesitate to be direct in such an emergency.

In some situations you know that the person you have been witnessing to has a definite problem or sin blocking the way. You may need to deal with that first. You may have to resolve questions or problems before the person is willing to make a personal commitment to Jesus.

Know the answer or how to get the answer from another person. But remember that many things which seem like huge problems before conversion almost disappear once one experiences salvation. As quickly as you can, point the person away from his question or objection and to Jesus.

Trust the Holy Spirit to guide you in how much time you spend on each of the following points. In an emergency, go directly to the essential point:"Trust Jesus this moment to forgive you and He will save you."

a. Assure people that Jesus, His love, and His forgiveness are for them. "Jesus died for you as well as for the whole world. He loves you now. It is not too late to ask and receive His forgiveness now." Scriptures: Matthew 11:28; John 3:16; Revelation 22:17 b.

b. Help them confess their need and sins now. "We have all sinned. You have sinned. Admit your need. Be ready to forsake your sins by God's help. If you need to ask forgiveness of others, or make things right with others, promise God you will do it."
  In an emergency, have them confess their sins or admit they need Jesus. If they cannot speak, ask them to confess in their hearts. Or say. Or say, "I will pray aloud, and you agree in your hearts with me."
  Then pray a short, specific prayer of confession, asking forgiveness, and placing trust in Jesus as Savior, then thanking Him.) Scriptures: Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9.

c. Help them trust Jesus to forgive them. "Accept His love, His forgiveness, and His power to change you."  You may want to quote a promise or two and then emphasize it. (In an emergency it is enough to say,'Jesus said . . ." "Just thank Him.") Scripture:  John 6:37; Romans 10:9.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Used by permission of the author and Duewel Literature Trust, Inc., Greenwood, Indiana. Creative reading style by Jean.

Ablaze for God
#67 Leading a Person to Christ
by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
(pp. 202-203) ZondervanPublishingHouse

Prayer in the morning

Father, may it be so that we begin to look for opportunities to share our faith with those around us.
As we'll need to know the bare essentials in leading someone to faith in Christ, help us learn what they are, so when faced with a challenge of helping them make the most important decision of their life, we'll be ready.
Give Scripture promises to them, such as John 3:16; Matt. 11:28; Romans 1:16; and Romans 3:23, 24 to help them know God's plan of redemption through Christ Jesus, His Son.
Assure the person of Christ's love for them, the availability of the forgiveness of their sins, and of the salvation available. Lead them in a short prayer of repentance, with the request of forgiveness.
Have them surrender their hearts and lives to Jesus and invite Him to come in as their Savior and Lord.
Explain to them that the Spirit of Jesus now dwells within them to help them live a life to His glory. Encourage them to read the Bible, begin to pray, find a Bible-centered church and to have a determined will to follow Jesus.
May we trust in Your Holy Spirit to guide us to help them trust that Jesus has forgiven them and that they're saved from all sins of their past, and will help them live a life of dedication to Him.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Today's Bible verses-

Col. 4:5, 6 (KJV) "Walk in wisdom toward them that

are without, redeeming the time. (6) Let your speech

be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may

know how ye ought to answer every man."

Matt. 9:37, 38 (KJV) "Then saith he unto his disciples,
The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
(38) Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he
will send forth labourers into his harvest."

1 Tim. 2:5 (AMP) "For there [is only] one God, and
[only one] Mediator between God and men, the
Man Christ Jesus."

James 5:20 (NIV) "Remember this: Whoever turns a
sinner from the error of his way will save him from
death and cover over a multitude of sins."

Today's quote-

~ Jennifer Eivaz- "Prayer is an exercise of spiritual government. It is our priestly function and the most powerful exercise of godly authority on the earth. It invites the atmosphere of heaven and the will of God into the earth's domain and establishes territorial occupation." (Taken from p. 152 of Eivaz's book, THE INTERCESSORS HANDBOOK.)

Today's popular post-

Be Swift My Soul to Listen Lee Forbes

"Be swift my soul to listen
And be slow my tongue to speak
Lest by your conversation
You may bruise a soul that's weak . . .

And draw them to decision

Where by faith they will decide

To move with pure precision

In the path they have not tried"

Sign up today at www.ptl.org/influence for test drive the newest course for sharing your faith.

Today's question-

Why seek the will of God for what we're praying?

Our prayers are effective when we pray the will of God. He wants to bring us into unity with Him, remove all divisions and to bring us higher in our praying. He will speak to us what our part is, and encourage us to let Him have His way. Jesus wants us to come confidently to the Father. In John 14:14, Jesus tells us, "If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."
Verse 15 instructs us to keep His commandments. This is how we can have our prayers heard and answered; if we're obedient to what we know to do to please Him. Our prayers are to reflect God's purposes, not our own!

Upcoming posts-

#68 Prepare Your People by Teaching them God's Word

5th- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel

What it Takes

7th- Saturday's post by Jean Oathout

#69 Your Prayer Life as a Leader

10th- Tuesday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel

#70 You are Responsible to Keep Strong & Blessed Through Prayer
12th- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel