Dear Prayer Warriors, When you boil it all down, when you strip away all the trappings, when you look at the final objective, just what is it you are trying to accomplish when it comes to the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
“Chocks off!!” When my son was an air force officer on the flight line, he wanted to hear one thing and one thing only - “chocks off” ” – from the pilot to the tower, to the flight officer to the colonel of the base, that is all they want to know - are the chocks off, which means the jet is ready to roll. Everything his crew did boiled down to that one phrase which meant success. In fact, nothing matters in terms of the mission if this phrase cannot be shouted out.
“Turning to the right” He is now in the oil service industry and now he wants to hear another phrase – “turning to the right.” Everything that happens on a rig--all the components, all the complexity - are summed up in this phrase, “turning to the right.” That is all the rig manager, the owner and, ultimately, the corporate head want to know – is the drill going deeper. In fact, nothing matters in terms of oil service, if this phrase cannot be answered in the affirmative.
“Fully Funded” My good friend and realtor, Kevin Reynolds, tells me--all the advertising, all the sales pitches, all the driving around, all the signing of documents, all the plans--come down to one question--“Is it funded?” In fact, nothing matters in real-estate sales if this question cannot be answered in the affirmative. If there is no money, it all comes to naught.
“Good to go" GSGT Brian Reed says, “Basically everything is ready when we hear that phrase or we know the commander’s intent when we respond with that phrase.” Nothing happens until they hear that phrase and, when they hear it, they know they are going into action. In fact, all logistical training comes to nothing if the commander cannot send this phrase to his sergeants.
“The Question” When it comes to witnessing, there is also a phrase which boils it all down. That is “Did you ask the question?” – the “question” being, “Would you like to pray now to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?” All of the good works, all of the service projects, all of the random acts of kindness, all of the apologetic philosophizing, all of the instruction in the Gospel come to naught if this question is not asked. satan has no problem at all with Christians scurrying around as long as they do not ask this question. As long as they do not call men and women to repentance and new birth through Jesus Christ our Lord, he is perfectly happy with them keeping busy in the background.
Now, I am not saying that other aspects of the witnessing and evangelism ministry are not important. Just as I am not saying all the logistics of the flight line are not important,. What I am saying is that, if you cannot yell out “chocks off,” then it does not matter what else you have accomplished.
I am not saying that all the other aspects of the oil service industry do not matter but, if the man at the rig cannot pick up the cell phone and report, “turning to the right,” then it does not matter. The objective is not met.
Now, I am not saying that all the aspects of real-estate sales and promotion do not matter, but what I am saying is that, if it is not “fully funded,” then you can show and promote homes all the live-long day and nothing will happen.
Now, I am not saying that all the prep of deployment is not important but, if the commander cannot relay the phrase “good to go,” then nothing is happening. It all waits on that phrase.
Now, I am not saying that the other aspects of witnessing and evangelism are not important, but, if nobody is asked to receive Christ, nobody will answer the question. If no one is called, no one will answer. If no one is called, no one will come. It seems simple but you cannot imagine the pushback I get on this. In all my history in the ministry, I have never met anyone who led someone to Christ who did not first share the Gospel with that person. I have never known or heard of a situation where a person said, “I am not a Christian. I do not know how to become a Christian. The Gospel has not been presented to me. Would you please lead me in the believer’s prayer so that I can repent and receive Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior?”
God the Holy Spirit could not have put this more clearly than in Romans 10:14-15 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"
“Chocks off” – requires all that precedes it to be done. “Turning to the right” – requires everything else to be done. “Fully funded” – will not happen until every “t” is crossed and “I” dotted. “Good to go” – will not happen until all logistics have been taken care of. In the same way, “the question” cannot be asked until the Gospel has been fully explained, until a true witness for Christ has been made. Pagans can do good works. Pagans can feed the poor. Pagans can drill water wells. Pagans can build hospitals and provide medical care. Pagans can educate. Pagans can perform miracles. Pagans can provide great religious trappings and spectacles. In fact, pagans can do many of the above on a larger scale than Christians can even imagine. Only Christians can present the Gospel and, in so doing, save souls.
Let’s sum it up as God the Holy Spirit sums it up… What do you know? 1 Corinthians 2:2 “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ , and Him crucified” What do you want to be? 1 Thessalonians 2:4 “but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel , so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts.” 2 Timothy 1:8 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the Gospel according to the power of God,” What do you do? 1 Corinthians 1:23 & 4:5 “…but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness…For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake.”
If I were your flight line captain, I would want to know – “Are chocks off?” If I were the rig master, I would want to know – “Is it turning to the right?” If I were the head of your real-estate office, I would want to know – “Is it fully funded?” If I were a Marine Sergeant, I would want to know – “Are we good to go?” And God the Holy Spirit wants to know – “Did you ask the question?”
Romans 10:14-15 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"
When was the last time you said, “Would you like to pray now to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?”
By His mercy, II Corinthians 4:1 Rev. John S. Mahon – Director: Grace Community International Preparing to preach Jesus and teach the holy, eternal, inerrant, written Word of God in Russia
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