The Greatest Fulfillment in Life!

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December, 2002

Dear Ministry Partner,

There is a Christian practice that is more fulfilling than anything else, gives a person a life purpose, and piles up rewards in Heaven (and some on earth) — yet is very neglected by many Christians. What is that Christian action? It is being a witness. Now don't tune this out because you think you know what I am talking about, or because you are afraid of "witnessing" to strangers. What I am about to present any Christian can do.

The Bible does not command you to get people saved. First of all, you cannot get anyone saved — it is a work of God. The Bible does say that "he who wins souls is wise" (Proverbs 11:30). But the Bible recognizes that people have a free will, so God doesn't hold you and me responsible for people who reject the Gospel. But God does expect us to be a witness. Here are some related scriptures:

A witness in a court of law is someone who communicates in a public way what he or she saw, experienced, or heard. Witnesses give the name of the key individual who impacted their life in some way. A witness is not expected or required to convince every member of the jury. But a witness can be held in contempt of court by the Judge if he or she won't tell others what happened to him or her. Think about that from a spiritual point of view!

In addition, the Bible says that we have all been given "the ministry of reconciliation" (2nd Corinthians 5:18). That means we are supposed to do what we can to help bring people into right relationship with God. Certainly that includes giving financially to God's ministries, but it is not limited to that. If we were not able to physically do anything else, then giving and praying would be good enough. But 99.9% of Christians can be a more active witness than that. Furthermore, one sign of maturity in any creature is the ability to reproduce. Christians should be the same way! Now the truth is, we are all already a witness — it is just a question of what kind of "witness" we are. We need to ask ourselves, if it was against the law to be a Christian, is there enough evidence that we could be convicted in court? If people saw our home, our car, our checkbook, our lifestyle — could they tell we were a Christian?

The devil wants Christians to under-estimate the power and influence of just being a simple witness. I recently read about a North Korean who had been a soldier for 10 years. His mother died, and at the funeral, his father quietly said something like, "She is with Jesus now." The soldier did not know his parents had become Christians. That single statement led that soldier to salvation, and he has left the North Korean army and committed himself to being a witness for Jesus!

"Go into all the world" and spread the Gospel can be as simple as making sure everyone in your world is easily able to know you are a Christian (not just through an obscure fish symbol). That clear witness can be through many avenues such as:

I have done all of the above and seen God use it to bring people to salvation.

One of the powerful promises of God's guidance is found in Proverbs 3:6, "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." When you actively "acknowledge" that God and Jesus are in your life, you can expect "to be in the right place at the right time" on a regular basis! What would that be worth to you?

Speaking of tracts, I once heard a pastor casting doubt on the ability of Christian tracts to get people saved. He asked a group of his church members, "Do you know anyone who has gotten saved from a tract?" To his surprise, one of his deacons raised his hand and said he did! Judi and I have personally been responsible for giving out well over 50,000 tracts. How can God's Word return void? (Isaiah 55:11). Christmas and Easter are a great time to do a deliberate evangelistic outreach to your neighborhood (Holly & Lilly evangelism) through tracts, videos, etc. We have given out Jesus videos to neighbors and relatives [through the Jesus Project, (888) JESUS-36), and copies of More than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell are as little as 50 cents each from (972) 907-1000]. There is no end to the ways you can be a witness. It is a matter of "sowing seeds" (Mark 4:1-34) and then another "waters" (1st Corinthians 3:6-8), and God gives the increase. (Note: I would not want to get to Heaven, and try to explain to Jesus why I did not spend any money on evangelism tools!)

It is all about lifestyle evangelism — how to be a witness as you go through your normal life. You can invite people to church (the young, old, and in-between). But the biggest satisfaction of all is to be the person God uses to actually lead another person to a salvation prayer. With a little personal preparation, you can have a very workable plan to give you the confidence to find ways to verbally explain the plan of salvation to people — then "close the sale" by offering to lead them in a salvation prayer. Now don't get scared on me — I have been there, and you can do it. I have led scores of people to the Lord in one-on-one conversations in everyday life. You just need the teaching to know what to do — then watch for people in crisis or under stress. You need to catch adults at a time when they are spiritually open. When everything is going great, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to get saved. But there is no shortage of hurting, lonely, or broke people out there if you just raise your awareness. Actually, the large percentage of the population is either deep in debt, out of work, going through a divorce or health crisis (themselves or a family member), having a mid-life crisis, or older and facing death. Children are the easiest to lead to the Lord, because the fiery trials of life have not made them hardened, cynical, or bitter at "God" who they blame (instead of the devil). You probably have some kids in your neighborhood you could lead to the Lord like Judi and I have.

I recently taught a two tape series on lifestyle evangelism. The first tape contains ways to be a witness like I discussed above. The second tape contains several practical plans for sharing salvation and leading someone to the Lord. I have used these, and can tell you they work! You can be leading more people to the Lord than you ever thought possible. Just respond to our ministry this month with an offering of any amount and request the two tapes. We will rush them to you. You will be grateful for eternity that you requested them!

Witnessing for Jesus,

Dale & Judi Leander

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