We Must Give Them Jesus

John 3: 16 & 17 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." We as believers have read this portion of scripture so many times that it can become old to us if we let it. I pray that as you read it here, God will make it fresh and new and powerful in your own heart- that is so important, because unless we see the true condition of the world, we will never really feel a passion for the lost the way God wants us to. Whosoever believeth in Him should not PERISH- We've always got to keep in mind that those without Christ are lost- forever lost. And there's simply no other way that they can have eternal life than the genuine gospel of Christ.

I'll get to the important word 'genuine' in just a moment, because that is actually what I'm writing about now, but I love the way that a young Billy Graham put it as I watched an old video of him a few years ago, concerning the gospel. "If God had to send His precious Son to a cross to die for your sins and mine, then you can take it to the bank- you're not getting to heaven by any other means than that cross!"

So powerful, yet so simple- or is it? Well, it was certainly meant to be, but I ask you- when was the last time you heard the simple gospel preached in the power of the Holy Spirit? When lost people hear preachers of today, do they understand that they are in fact eternally lost and without any hope at all, save for the cross of Christ? Do they hear that without Christ's resurrection, there is no hope of eternal life?

I am very, very concerned that those without Christ and yet searching for the truth, are sometimes hearing a weak, cheap counterfeit 'version' of God's Word. I've dealt w ith this in previous writings, but I have yet another concern- even when we hear the preaching of God's Word, it so often seems to have become more of an intellectual treatise than the impartation of life by the Holy Spirit. You can know Jesus like you know George Washington, in a historical sense- and many seem to know Him about as intimately. That kind of knowledge will not save anybody- it's simply a recollection of words and facts. Let me repeat the question, "When was the last time you heard the simple gospel, the GENUINE gospel preached in the power of the Holy Spirit?"

It is a life-changing experience, and once you've known it, you could never go back to the lifeless, 'textbook' stuff that so many preach today. To those who preach the Word on a regular basis, I plead with you- We've got to give them Jesus! We've got to give lost people the Bread of Life- as He is, not as we would have Him. Are we so dependent on the Holy Spirit that w e pray before preaching, "God, please, please be here! Please get ME out of the way, so that they may hear YOUR words, not mine! That they would receive from YOUR Spirit, not my clever ideas or my excellent exposition of Your Word- God, please! That is what God wants to hear, and He WILL answer that prayer with great delight! Are we giving them Jesus? They are eternally lost without Him. Real preparation begins on our knees, long before we ever open a book. Look to Him, lean on Him, and He will go with you as you share Him with others!

God bless you with His Presence!

En Agape,
pastor Jim