So don't look to me alone to change your life
friend, look to Jesus! I can give you THE TRUTH of God's Word, but the seeds
of truth must be watered by faith, or else they won't germinate and grow.
And there can be no faith without hearing the Word of God. Romans 10:17,
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” It is
the Holy Spirit Who draws (convicts) all mankind to the Gospel to be saved.
John 12:32, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men
unto me.”
This is what it means in Hebrews 6:4-6 when it
speaks of those “who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the
heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted
the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall
fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to
themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” It
means you had better get saved when the Holy Spirit convicts your heart
about being saved, because if you reject the Gospel, there is no other way
to be saved. If you reject Jesus Christ, you might as well be crucifying the
Lord all over
again, putting Him to open shame. Anyone who refuses to get saved by
believing the Gospel is playing
with hellfire.
Soul-Winning Believers Are Co-Labourers
Together With God
I'm sure you've seen the trend for Hollywood
celebrities, famous people, world leaders, the pope, and people of
influence, to flash the satanic
El Diablo (Spanish for “the devil”) hand sign in public. This sign of
allegiance is toward the soon coming man of sin, the Anti-Christ. By
flashing the El Diablo
hand-sign, or a host of
other occult
hand-signs used extensively by Freemasons, members are showing that they
are CO-LABORERS together with the Antichrist and Satan. If you flash the El
Diablo sign, whether ignorantly or with knowledge of what it means,
regardless, you are showing your support for the coming Beast, the
Anti-Christ.
1st John 4:3, “And every spirit that
confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and
this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should
come; and even now already is it in the world.” 1st John 4:1-6 teaches
concerning the Deity and incarnation of Jesus Christ. Anyone who denies that
God was manifest (revealed) in the flesh in the fleshly body of Jesus Christ
has the spirit of antichrist (John 1:1-3, 14; 1st Timothy 3:16). Jesus was
not Michael the archangel incarnate, as Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-day
Adventist prophetess, Ellen G. White, taught. SDA's today claim to believe
in Christ's deity.
Jesus Christ created all things, including the
archangels (John 1:3). The Holy Spirit of God overshadowed Mary, and by a
miracle impregnated her without physical relations (perverted Mormons teach
that God had sex with Mary). Mary was a virgin, and gave birth to the only
begotten Son of God. Mormons are sick perverts for teaching that God has sex
with Mary.
False
prophet Ravi Zacharias has actually apologized publicly to Mormons for
faithful Baptists who have exposed Mormonism as a satanic cult.
Not Praying Limits the Power of God
James 4:6, “But he giveth more grace.
Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth
grace unto the humble.” If God were to bless the labors of
religious workers who don't pray, don't abide in the Scriptures, and don't
depend upon the power of the Holy Spirit, men would swell with sinful pride.
Psalms 78:41, “Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the
Holy One of Israel.” The Hebrews in the Wilderness limited God by their
lack of faith. Jesus couldn't perform any miracles in His home town, because
of their lack of faith. Matthew 13:58, “And he did not many mighty works
there because of their unbelief.” Everything that God has ever done, is
now doing, or will do, is by faith.
Every keystroke I make, every word I type,
every click of the mouse, is done prayerfully, fully realizing “for
without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). I cannot do it alone! My
labors are all in vain if the Holy Spirit of God is not working behind the
scenes. Jesus is the vine and we
(believers) are the branches. Our spiritual life as believers comes from
Christ's indwelling Spirit (Romans 8:9). Galatians 2:20 is one of my
favorite Scriptures, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live;
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the
life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me, and gave himself for me.” The Christian life that I live
is CHRIST LIVING IN ME!!! When I choose to sin, I am walking in the flesh,
and not walking in the Spirit, and I am to blame for not abiding in the Spirit of
Christ Who indwells me. This is an important truth to understand (1st
Corinthians 3:16-17).
Another beautiful truth in the Scriptures is: We don't
merely work FOR the Lord as Christians; but rather, God calls us His
“labourers together” WITH Christ. God saved us and began a good work in us, and He is the
only One Who can finish it. I speak to born-again Christians:
1st Corinthians 3:4-9, “For while one saith,
I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is
Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the
Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the
increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that
watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that
watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to
his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye
are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.”
When I type out an article, I pray for God to
guide my thinking and help me. When I publish an article on the internet server,
I pray for God's
Holy Spirit to work in people's hearts as they read it. The Holy Spirit
convicts peoples heart as I preach the Word of God. My writings mean nothing
if I do not include the Words of God. I am only a mortal man. My writings
are not inspired. Only God's Words are inspired. If I speak THE TRUTH of
God's Word, then the Holy Spirit will bless that truth, and convict people's
hearts, confirming what I say. This is why it's very important to always
quote the Scriptures. Faith comes from hearing the Word of God, not David
Stewart. I and God are
co-laborers, working together to win lost souls and change lives. Jesus
tells us in John 15:1-5 to abide in Him, and He in us, through living in the
Scriptures continually. I don't care who you are, you won't make it without
meditation day and night in the holy Scriptures. If you want to abide in
Christ, then His words must abide in you...
Psalms 1:1-3, “Blessed is the man that
walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of
sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his
delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and
night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of
water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not
wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
Soul-winners ought to always pray together before
they start knocking on doors. Claim a passage of Scripture with your
soul-winning partner; such as, Proverbs 11:30, “The fruit of the
righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” As we preach the Gospel to others, the Holy
Spirit will convict their hearts, compelling them to obey the truth.
A really big problem today with soul-winners
(hinderers) is not giving a clear presentation of the Gospel. Instead of
teaching the Gospel, they give multiple religious points and lead someone to
pray a prayer. Oftentimes when finished, the person allegedly led to the
Lord has no clue as to what the Gospel really. means. The soul-hinderer
leaves in confidence that they've done a good thing in God's eyes. You've
likely sent that person to Hell, because now they have a false hope.
What Is The Gospel?
(an excellent writing by Dr. Harry Ironside, 1876-1951).
The Holy
Spirit softly speaks to a person's heart, as we share the Gospel with their
mind. I hope you are understanding this truth. Most religious workers are
going through the motions, but God's power is not present in their ministry.
The reason why is because they do not pray. They do not depend upon God's
power. This is exactly what Jesus meant in John 15:5 when He said, “for
without me ye can do nothing”! Without the presence of the Holy Spirit,
I cannot lead anyone to the Lord. Now, I believe that the Holy Spirit is
always present when we share the Gospel with the lost, because we are
commanded to go soul-winning (Matthew 28:19-20).
Albeit, if there is a
lack of prayer and dependence upon God, few people will ever get saved. I cannot
explain it, I just know it. There's just something about prayer that makes a
big difference! Before the Day of Pentecost, the disciples had
met in advance of the event to pray. Acts 1:14, “These all continued with
one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother
of Jesus, and with his brethren.” The church family prayed, and
Pentecost followed, and 3,000 souls were saved in one day when they heard Peter preach
the Gospel. Amen. What if the disciples hadn't prayed? Do you still think
3,000 souls would have still been saved? I think not!
Dr. Reuben A. Torrey (1856-1928) rightly says:
“We are too busy to pray, and so we are too
busy to have power. We have a great deal of activity, but we accomplish
little; many services but few conversions; much machinery but few results.” —Pastor R.A. Torrey (1856-1928)
I dare not write a single website article
without praying for God to get involved and bless the labors of my heart and
hands. I often pray for God to bless my web visitors, even if it means
bypassing me with a blessing. If I can suffer a lost blessing, which will
result in more souls saved, more lives changed, and Christ making a
difference in someone's life, then I will gladly sacrifice to make it
happen. I want God to bless my web visitors, even if it means I will have to
suffer more. I believe that is a Christlike Spirit, Who gave Himself for us
(Ephesians 4:30-31). Today, I suffer with Christ, but tomorrow in eternity,
I will glory with Christ. Romans 8:17, “And if children, then heirs;
heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that
we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!!!!!!!
The Preaching That Produces Repentance
Lack of prayer is just one of the reasons why
there are few conversions in our churches today. Another main reason is a wrong view of
repentance and lack of Gospel preaching. Pastor Harry Ironside addresses
this subject in his excellent book titled, “EXCEPT
YE REPENT,” in which he states:
How pitiable it is to see men, who ought to be winners of souls, turning away
from this grand old Gospel to the vapid puerilities of what is vaingloriously
termed modern thought, and being content to preach on year after year without
ever seeing a tear of repentance drop from the eyes of their hearers or moving
any to cry in distress, "What must I do to be saved?"
Back to the Gospel, brethren, if like the men of God throughout the centuries
who have turned many to righteousness, you would bring men to repentance and
lead them to heaven. This will never result from substituting a social service
gospel, which is really no gospel at all, but an attempt to make the cross of
Christ of none effect. By saying this I do not mean for one moment to cast a
slur upon well-meant efforts to ameliorate conditions under which millions of
our fellow men are struggling. Everywhere that the pure evangel has found
lodgment in human hearts it has bettered the social environment into which it
has found its way. Even unsaved men profit by the love and grace set forth in
the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. Men are ashamed to do in the light what
they will do unblushingly in the dark, and so the Gospel has curbed many social
evils and bettered living conditions, wherever it has been received.
Of old it was said of Paul and his companions when they entered a certain
city, "These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also." The
trouble with this fallen world is that it is wrong side up. It needs to be
turned upside down in order to be right side up. And twenty centuries of
missions and evangelistic testimony have demonstrated the glorious fact that
civilization always follows in the wake of the story of the cross, and men learn
to think kindlier of one another and to be concerned about the welfare of their
fellows when the love of God is shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit
who is given unto them.
To take the position, as many who are hailed as "great thinkers" do today,
that we are not to be so much concerned about individual salvation as we are to
seek the social regeneration of the nations, is to be false to our commission,
and is a case of sadly misplaced emphasis. Man is made for eternity. His few
years here on earth are but as a moment in contrast to that which is to come and
which lies beyond the grave. It is of all importance to every individual that he
be properly oriented to his Creator -- in other words that he be right with God
— then all other necessary things will follow.
SOURCE: 'Except Ye Repent,'
chapter 16
In an effort to force the issue, but failing to
understand the true Gospel, multitudes of modern ministers have perverted
the simplistic meaning of “repentance,” which is simply, “a
change of mind.” Instead, multitudes of sincere, but flawed, preachers are
teaching that there can be no salvation without a change of mind so drastic,
that it produces a change of life that is visible to others. This is
reformation, not regeneration. This is a false Gospel. Biblical repentance
is unto the Gospel
itself, and not a transformation of one's bad character. It is Christ
Himself, Who transforms a man's character (2nd Corinthians 5:17). In other
words, a change life is the “fruit” of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and not a
result of manmade repentance (Galatians 5:22-23). The former is salvation, the latter is
religion.
Zechariah 4:6,
“Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD
unto
Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my
spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”
I am continually reminded by such Scriptures as this, that all my labors to
reach people for Christ in cyberspace, means absolutely nothing if the Holy
Spirit is not working in the minds and hearts of my web visitors. There is
nothing I can do to change someone's life. Only God can save and transform a
man into the image of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. 
