Last week saw 12 more men come to know the Lord as their Savior as a result of our ministry at the Osceola County Jail! I was recently asked how we are seeing so many souls coming to Christ every week in our jail ministries when others are seeing few, if any, conversions in a year. The simple answer is we invite them to make a decision. Many of the teachers fail to take the simple step of sharing Jesus Christ as part of their Bible studies. They do a good job setting the table, but never invite anyone to eat.
Several months ago I was asked to fill in at a study that was being run by a man who later left our ministry in a fit of pride and rebellion. I was informed that this was a Christian group so there was no need in preaching on salvation. I gave the message God laid upon my heart and 5 of the 10 men came forward for salvation. Instead of joy on the part of the teacher the news of the Salvations was met with indifference and I must have said something to “confuse” or “trick” them into salvation. It wasn’t anything special that I said, it wasn’t anything of me. The Holy Spirit had been working on these men for some time they were eager and hungry to be saved, but no one shared Jesus with them. Lots of morals and Bible stories, but no Jesus.
As Christians we need to be bolder in our sharing of the Gospel. If we would simply take the step of inviting many more would come to know Christ.
There is another reason why many ministries or seemingly Godly men never have a conversion. The value of a ministry is easily determined by the fruit it produces. I know men who have worked in their “ministries” for years without one person being saved, without one life changed in any sense of a positive way. Matthew chapter 7 talks about these men. It calls them “false profits” that need to be “hewn down, and cast into the fire”. These men contribute more to their own pride and martyrdom than to the Kingdom of God. Beware of ministries that do not produce fruit. Just as a healthy orange tree will always produce oranges, a healthy, Godly Ministry will always produce Godly fruit.
Monday, May 12, 2008
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