DYNAMIC PERSONALITY NOT REQUIRED

(“He who wins souls is wise.” Proverbs 11:30 NKJV)

Dear Readers:

The last time we emphasized the fact that we don’t need to be Bible scholars to become soulwinners, but just share like a child the love of Jesus.

Today I’m going to discuss another barrier that I, or others might have toward soulwinning. I’ve always known that I don’t have an outgoing, dynamic personality, one where people are drawn to me naturally because of my charm and charisma.

I’ve never been the life of a party. I wondered growing up why my brother had many more friends than I did. I guessed it was because I was more reserved and shy. Also, I always worried about the consequences, possibly even legal ones, of being the life of a party and the center of attention. In retrospect my lack of a having a dynamic personality served me well. I was never arrested . . . although a couple times I could have been.

Back in the early 90’s I helped my church youth pastor and his wife lead a youth group. I was well aware that I was not as popular as some of the younger leaders, and for that matter some of the older ones. I had a strong sense of not being as ‘hip’ as the others.

One leader and his wife about my age were musicians. Before they were saved they had their own rock band in the secular world. They had two teens in the group. They also had a working music studio in their basement, and they were both dynamic and outgoing. The father even designed and built a six-eight foot long model Seaview submarine, based on the ‘Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea’ TV show. He had it right in the middle of the family dining room.

I was single, had some obsessive-compulsive traits, and felt insecure that I, again, could never dynamic enough that the youth members would like me, and think that I was ‘cool’.

I even went to the youth pastor and said that I didn’t think I was cut out to be a youth leader . . . that I felt I didn’t fit in. He took strong opposition to my view, and directly stated that my strong Christian faith was a definite asset to setting a good example for the youth. He said I didn’t have to be dynamic and outgoing to be an effective youth leader.

So, here’s my question. Does a lack of having an outgoing, dynamic personality affect soulwinning?

By the way, many people have dynamic personalities, but they are ineffective role models and leaders.

And, I’m in no way suggesting that a person should never have a dynamic personality. The amazing thing about us is that we’re all different and bring our own ‘wonderfully made’ self to the table of life as it says in Psalm 139.

I think there is a key, however, to unlocking our full potential to win souls for Jesus Christ. It’s to understand and to accept that the dynamic power for witnessing comes from Jesus, His Holy Spirit, and His Holy Word.

God’s Word has enough power and dynamism to go around, and when we depend on it, we don’t feel that we need to be dynamic within ourselves.

Again, as I said in a previous post, “this isn’t just using the power of positive thinking”. The dynamic power of God’s Word is a reality. The first chapter of John makes it clear that the “Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were created through him.” John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” It’s talking about Jesus!

The Greek word dunamis is used 120 times in the New Testament. It means power, strength, ability, and even explosiveness. The words dynamic and even dynamite are derived from dunamis. The word is used to identify the dynamic power that Christians have in following God’s word.

Also, Hebrews 4:12 states, “For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword”.

In conclusion, this means to be a winner of souls we don’t have to have a dynamic personality, although to have one isn’t forbidden. Everyone’s different and brings their own strengths to the table. It simply means, instead of depending on our own strengths, that we depend instead on the dynamic power and strength of God’s Living Word to win souls for Jesus.

See you next time,
Arlen

JUST A LAYMAN BECOMING LIKE A CHILD

(“He who wins souls is wise.” Proverbs 11:30 NKJV)

Dear Readers:

The last time we discussed a very prominent barrier for me, and likely others to reach lost souls for Jesus Christ. It’s clearly the absence of the knowledge of, or acceptance of the power of the Holy Spirit to help us.

There’s one other barrier that I want to discuss. It’s been a hindrance for me for many years to share the gospel with others. It’s the fact that I’m a simple layman, which by definition means that I’m not a clergyman, or a trained biblical professional.

I have, however, read the Bible through many times, mostly through annual daily readings. I’m going to be honest in sharing that I’m a fairly distractible person, and I lose my train of thought easily, and I don’t even come close to having a photographic memory. But by Bible reading repetition over the years I’ve become very familiar with most of the contents and the themes of the Bible. But a biblical or theological scholar I’m not, nor will I ever become one.

That’s partly why the fundamentals of soulwinning don’t come naturally for me in the sense of being able to easily quote the scriptures most closely associated with evangelism. And that’s largely the reason I started the Soulwinnersr.us website in the first place. I wanted to help myself, and people like me, to become soulwinners despite our handicaps.

Working for so many years with people with handicaps such as developmental disabilities, and for over thirty years with people with mental illness, I’m keenly aware of the problems many, many people have with understanding things, with performing tasks, and with interpersonal relationships. I wondered, and still wonder about their ability to connect with God, and to have an impact on others while sharing the love of Jesus.

I’ve come to a conclusion, and I think it’s a sound one. It stems from the book of Matthew. Jesus said in chapter 18:3, “Unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”.

Also, Jesus in chapter 19:13-14 addressed his disciples who rebuked parents who were bringing children to Jesus for prayer. Jesus sternly told his disciples to allow the children “because the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Finally, Matthew 21:15-16 details the children spontaneously shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” The scribes and Pharisees were indignant over this, but Jesus justified their praise of Him.

One thing about children is that they’re too young to have formed opinions and strategies about things. They act on impulse. They say what’s on their mind. 

Children saw something in Jesus that appealed to them, and they let it be known how they felt. They weren’t thinking of possible consequences, and they definitely weren’t strategically planning their next steps to tell others people about Jesus. They told other people, and eventually the world about him in their own way. And their interactions with Jesus and others ended up being written about in the Bible.

That gives me hope with my own foibles, and gives me hope for other people with foibles, and even for people that have disabilities, that they also can know, and share the wonderful love of Jesus with other people.

See you next time,

Arlen

HOLY SPIRIT INSPIRED SOULWINNING

(“He who wins souls is wise.” Proverbs 11:30 NKJV)

Dear Readers:

Lately I’ve been thinking, “What am I missing related to soulwinning, and why don’t more people show an interest in doing it (not necessarily with me, but generally)?
 
It came to me that my focus has been on the mechanical, motivational, and mental aspects of reaching out to others with the Gospel of Jesus.

When reading Acts, however, I believe there’s a whole different dimension that I’m missing. What’s that dimension?

The Book of Acts makes it clear. It’s the power of the Holy Spirit.

I know that some Christians struggle with Pentecostalism. They believe that the emphasis on speaking in tongues as evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit is going too far.

On the other side many Pentecostal Christians feel very strongly that all Christians should embrace speaking in tongues to experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Yesterday I did a little unscholarly research of the Book of Acts, and I came to the conclusion that both sides have some valid points.

In my research, unscholarly as it was, I found the following:

1. The filling or leading of the Holy Spirit was mentioned in seventeen of the twenty-eight chapters of Acts.

2. ‘Speaking in tongues’ was only mentioned in three of those seventeen chapters.

3. That means that tongues related to the filling of the Holy Spirit was mentioned in 10.7% of the chapters of Acts.

4. The Holy Spirit filling or leading without the mention of tongues was in 60.7% of the chapters of Acts.

Conclusion: The Holy Spirit filling or leading is mentioned almost 6 times more by itself than associated with tongues.

I think that’s likely why Paul, in 1 Corinthians 14 minimized the importance of tongues in relation to the Holy Spirit. He specifically said that there are more important matters for the Christian to focus on than speaking in tongues. But he also said, however, that we shouldn’t throw tongues totally out the window.

But let’s get back to the ‘filling’ or ‘leading’ part that the Holy Spirit plays in our lives as it relates to soulwinning. I think in my own life I’ve felt a nudging a number of times to go one way with a decision,

and I always said, “The Lord led me.” This statement’s true, but I think just as accurate is the statement, “The Holy Spirit led me.”

Think of the concept of ‘being filled with, or being led by the Holy Spirit’. Just take it in . . . the God of the universe is living inside of you . . . He’s living inside of me, and He’s intimately working through you and me! Aren’t those two very awesome things?

Rather than thinking too much about the mundane experiences of life, I want to embrace the wonder of the Holy Spirit filling my life and leading me.

This isn’t just ‘the power of positive thinking’. This is a reality that can’t be ignored. It can’t be ignored when going about our daily routines. And it certainly can’t be ignored when interacting with family, friends, and other people we encounter.

There you have it. We need to accept the fact that we are filled with, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live our lives, And the Holy Spirit also empowers us to reach out to those we encounter with the life-changing love of Jesus.

See you next time,

Arlen

The Spirit of Jesus

Dear Readers,

Don’t you wish you had easy answers to difficult questions? I know sometimes I face challenges that seem overwhelming and I don’t know how I’m going to resolve them.

I think I pray hard enough (or do I?) but the answers seem very elusive.

I’ve read many verses about the leading of the Holy Spirit and how He will lead me “into all truth”. But then I get into the quandary of defining truth, and for a concrete thinker like me the answers can seem endless what truth looks like.

I read a couple Bible verses recently that caught my attention. It made me wonder if I was making things too difficult. The verses were located in Acts 16:6-8 (NLT). They go like this: “Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia,but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas.”

Pay attention to verse 7 where it talks about the “Spirit of Jesus” that did not allow them to a specific place.

What would it take for you and I to be so in tune to God, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, to have such specific direction given to us…and for us to discern it?

I pray and long for a day when I am so in tune with God’s will that I can directly tap into it to deal with difficult questions and challenges. How about you?

See you next time,

Arlen

True Power

Dear Readers,
 
My last blog post identified three men who claim to be the long awaited Messiah, and the false power they possess.

Tonight I watched a video about another three men who worked together to proclaim one man as the true Messiah and they changed the world with the true power of God.

I was brought to tears when watching a Bill Gaither documentary which highlighted Cliff Barrows’ life as the song leader for the Billy Graham Crusades. I attended the Billy Graham Crusade in 1993 in Columbus, Ohio, and was involved as a counselor at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in 1994. Mr. Barrows was getting older then, but he still showed vibrancy leading the songs.

Twenty years later in the 2014 documentary Mr. Barrows was full of the joy of the Lord. But at 83 years old he has a cane to walk and is obviously going blind, which I confirmed via the internet. He lamented the loss in 2013 of his long-time cohort, the famed bass soloist George Beverly Shea. They both had worked alongside Rev. Graham since the late 1940’s.

Lastly there is Billy Graham, the famed evangelist, who is in failing health at the age of 87. He was a dynamic speaker who never lost his zeal for proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He teamed with Barrows and Shea to form a trio of what I would expect is the longest running evangelistic team ever to not break up in over 60 years. They developed a bond of friendship that could never be broken. A funny moment was when the three together sang “This Little Light of Mine”. Rev. Graham acted as the fall guy who could not sing a lick. He was the “no” guy when the other two sang “Won’t let Satan put it out”.

I marveled at the humble Mr. Barrows now with so many physical ailments, and then see videos when he was younger and leading stadiums of up to 100,000 people in glorious praise to God. I looked at the Billy Graham Crusade itineraries in cities all over the world and marveled that three men could have such an impact with literally millions coming to Christ.

These are three men that have true power that comes from the Holy Spirit of God.

See you next time,
Arlen

Where Does It Come From...Where Does It Go?

Dear Readers,

This morning I felt a deep and meaningful presence of the Holy Spirit. I was at home in my basement, not in church. I was by myself, not with other people. I do not often feel His presence as I did this morning, in fact I can probably count the number on two hands when I have experienced Him so strongly. Which begs the question, “Where does the Holy Spirit come from, secondly where does it go, and lastly why don’t I feel Him more often?”

I am not an expert in theology to excavate the depths of the scriptures to discover the answers. Also, I am not a scientist to lay everything out on the table and by use of repeated experimentation hypothesize a formulary.

I would label myself an “experiential person”. Answers to questions do not come very easily to me. I basically experience feelings. If the feelings are good I want them to come more frequently. If they are bad I pray for them to stay away.

The scriptures do reveal, however, some insight into my questions, although I will never fully understand it. John 3:5-8 (NKJV) quotes Jesus in a conversation with Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I say to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

I understand that I cannot somehow conjure up the feeling that I had this morning, and I cannot just wish it upon others. The only thing I can do is apply another scripture found in James 5:16. It states that “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (NKJV) All I know to do is to pray fervently to the Lord that he sends the wind of His Holy Spirit to me on a more frequent basis, and especially for Him to send it to my family members and friends that do not know His wonderful love.

See you next time,
Arlen