by Riley Stephenson, KCM Minister of Evangelism
If you look around the world in any direction, you can tell that we are in the last days. I have heard “Jesus is coming soon” as far back as I can remember as a young child, and it’s more true now than ever before. The time for us to become laborers in the winning of souls is now.
Jesus shared this story:
A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, “Come, the banquet is ready.” But they all began making excuses. One said, “I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.” Another said, “I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.” Another said, “I just got married, so I can’t come.”
The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, “Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.” After the servant had done this, he reported, “There is still room for more.” So his master said, “Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.” (Luke 14:16–24, NLT)
Our job is to be skilled at inviting our family, friends, co-workers, and those the Lord puts on our hearts to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Jesus said, “I sent you to harvest” (John 4:38, NLT). We need to have a harvest mentality. The church’s focus in the past has been on the sowing of the seed, but we are in a time where the incorruptible seed is sown and immediately harvested. Look at this scripture: “‘The time will come,’ says the LORD, ‘when the grain and grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested’” (Amos 9:13, NLT). How much more the incorruptible seed the Word of God that will not return void!
We are seeing this happen right in front of our eyes!
On February 11 of this year, twenty-seven members of our congregation at Eagle Mountain International Church went to downtown Fort Worth to tell people the good news that Jesus loves them. For several on our team, it was their first time to share Jesus. That night we prayed with sixty-seven people to receive Jesus. Lori had not prayed with anyone before to receive Jesus. Here’s her testimony of the night:
Today I stepped out of my comfort zone in every area possible! To be honest, I talked to my family about going out and talking to people about the Lord. They all but ran from me, telling me that this is just not something they are comfortable with. So I thought I would talk the Lord into letting me go home to talk to one of my family members who doesn’t go to church. I told the Lord that I would practice on them, and then next time I would go out with the group. He said, “No, go now with the group, and get it over with.” So I went out, and wow, I had a great time! I am so glad I went and would love to go every time I can. I was the first person in my group to speak to anyone, and I have to say that I was very proud of myself because I don’t talk to people at all! I talked to four people that night, and three of the people were Christians. I have to say, when I first started talking to a person about where he or she was with the Lord, I always waited to hear the word “relationship.” As soon as I heard them say that they had a relationship with the Lord, I would say “Okay, I’m glad. Have a great night.”
I spoke to a young lady, maybe twenty to twenty-two years old, and she had a very sweet spirit, and she gave her life to the Lord. Her boyfriend gave his life to the Lord, and his dad is an active pastor in ministry in Fort Worth. I also listened to someone else talk to a few people, and they were not at all interested in talking to us about the Lord. I thought, Well, that’s hurtful to hear, but the Lord told me, “It’s not you they’re rejecting but Me, Lori.” I heard in my spirit, “Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me” (Luke 10:16, NLT). I know the Lord will continue to send laborers into their lives. Amazing experience for sure!
The next day, February 12, the outreach team from our church went to Friendship Park in Fort Worth. We had face painting, bounce houses, and games for the kids. There was a time of worship, and we also had gifts for those with matching ticket numbers. Our team talked to the people who showed up for the event. Our goal was to invite those who didn’t have a relationship with Jesus to accept Him then. It was freezing outside, but the fire of the Spirit of the Lord was present. We had forty salvations with many testimonies.
Here is a special one:
I had volunteered to help in the food-service area for the Friendship Park community outreach and was assigned to handle the grill for the whole day. During the middle of the event, one of the EMIC staff members asked me if I spoke Hindi, as I am originally from India. I told him, “Yes, I can speak Hindi, which I learned while in India.” The staff then guided me to a couple that was visiting the US from Nepal, and they were only comfortable communicating in the Hindi language. So Janet wanted me to translate the prayer of salvation for both of them, and they repeated after me and got saved! They were very open and willing to accept this prayer and asked me how they could get more information so that they could give it to their kids so that they could read the Bible online. I wrote down the search term that they needed to type on Google and asked them to give it to their children so they could open it up online and read the Bible—the Gospel of John online in the Hindi translation. This was a unique experience and my first time evangelizing! (Jibu G.)
Our faith for bringing people into the kingdom will never stop! We expect to revive our city and ignite the world!
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