How Does One Reach the Lost?

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July 11, 2020 • 09:00

How Does One Reach the Lost?

“Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.”
–Ezekiel 18:23,32

Pivotal questions which concern anyone who has attempted to reach the lost and dying of this world is “What is the best way to reach them?” AND “What is the most effective thing one can say to the lost in order that they may change the path on which they are walking and turn to a way that will save them eternally?”

One tactic which may be used is to mimic the various approaches which the LORD God employed in reaching out to the lost of the children of Israel–mostly in the Old Testament, but during the New Testament as well.

The LORD tried several different approaches (mostly through His prophets, whom He sent bearing His words to the children of Israel).

1- There were vivid pictures of the destruction which awaited those who did not heed the words of the LORD.

“Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.”
–Isaiah 24:1-6

“The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in. There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone. In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.”
–Isaiah 24:7-12

2- There were promises of the benefits which awaited those who DID heed the word of the LORD.

“Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey. For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. “
–Deuteronomy 11:8-15

3- There were threats–which came to pass.

“And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”
–1KINGS 17:1

4- There were times the LORD tried shaming the Israelites into changing their bad behavior.

“Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children’s children will I plead.”
–Jeremiah 2;4-9

God’s Word lists other strategies which the LORD used in His attempts to reach the lost of Israel (coaxing, warning–even begging/pleading).

NONE were very successful.

Actually, the most successful strategy was whenever God rendered His judgment (war, famine, pestilence) and the lost of Israel were in GREAT discomfort and cried out to God for relief. God usually relented and the Israelites changed their ways–until they got comfortable and slid back into iniquity.

Which does not encourage those who try to reach the modern lost.

SO, what is the best thing to say to a modern who is lost and doesn’t KNOW he is headed for destruction?

IF God Himself–short of causing war, famine or pestilence–didn’t change the behavior of the lost, what chances does an ordinary Joe have?

FORTUNATELY, God’s Word has the perfect answer.

Preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
-–Romans 1:16

To ALL that believeth, the gospel of Jesus Christ is ‘the power of God unto salvation.’

Will all of the lost one encounters be saved by preaching the gospel?

Not likely.

BUT a few WILL be saved, due to the mercy God shows those who have faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

God’s Choice: To Forget the Sin of His People

MORE: NO ONE is Saved Without the Mercy of God

This is what ALL who desire to throw the lost a lifeline have to do: preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

God, in His mercy and wisdom, has promised to do the rest.

IS the reader concerned about where he will spend his eternity?

It is not YET too late: there is still time to change direction (repent), place your faith (hope) for the future entirely on Jesus Christ and enter the kingdom of heaven.

DOES the reader believe he is saved?

Make Your Calling and Election Sure: End Times Survival

DOES the reader believe he is NOT saved?

Time is Running Out: Today is the Day of Salvation

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. ”
–1 Corinthians 15:1-8

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
-–Romans 1:16

MORE: Eternal Salvation Through Jesus Christ: Salvation Messages from End Times Prophecy Report

[Portions of this piece appeared originally in End Times Prophecy Headlines: July 7, 2020.]

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by Jeremiah Jameson
–with Mondo Frazier

image: Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash.com

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