Good Morning!
I have always considered that the most dangerous time of sharing the Gospel with someone is when it was time for them to make a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. When this happens it is the time that there is joy in heaven and Satan loses. But, to keep a person from putting their faith in Jesus Christ...Satan will do all he can to stop their decision.
A few years ago I taught a personal evangelism program at our church entitled Evangelism Explosion. Each week teams of people would gather for forty-five minutes of instruction and then make calls to share the Gospel with people in our community. We had a class one morning a week and one evening a week. My team and I were visiting a lady one morning following class. We were standing outside of her house in front of the garage. The garage door was open and she came from the house through the garage. I was sharing the Gospel with her and she had indicated that she was ready to pray and receive Jesus Christ into her life. Just as we were beginning to pray...I noticed the door leading from the garage into the house was open. From the house, there were plumes of smoke coming into the garage. The lady had her back to the door and did not see the smoke. It was time to pray, but, I could not continue on with her house possibly being on fire. So, I told her that smoke was coming from her house and she ran into the house to stop the fire. She had left lunch cooking on the stove and forgot to turn the heat off. We were able to get the fire out and clear the smoke and all was safe. But, we were never allowed to continue where we left off in the Gospel presentation before the fire. Satan was at work that day and did what he could to stop this lady from giving her life to Jesus Christ.
You see when someone gives their life to Jesus it is a victory for God. Satan does not want that to happen. It reminds me of the lyrics to an old song about Jesse Taylor. It says,
"They baptized Jesse Taylor in Cedar Creek last Sunday.
Jesus gained a soul and Satan lost a good right arm..."
Therefore, Satan does all he can to stop a person from giving their life to Jesus. It is our responsibility to tell people about the saving power of God through His Son, Jesus. It is the message that God has given to us to proclaim to people.
God had appointed Jeremiah to proclaim His message to the people of Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem. Read at what God told Jeremiah in chapter 1:9-10:
"Then the Lord reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and told me:
'Look, I have filled your mouth with My words.
See, today I have set you over nations and kingdoms
to uproot and tear down,
to destroy and demolish,
to build and plant.'"
Whenever Jeremiah was given God's message he was told to go and tell the people.
There is nothing different about what God has given to you today. Read what Jesus said in Mark 16:15-16:
"Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but,
whoever does not believe will be condemned."
This message is for you. Your lips have been touched and your mouth has been filled with the message that God desires for you to tell the people in your world. As in the days of Jeremiah, our nation is filled with ungodliness...a lot of ungodliness. Jeremiah knew his nation was going to see an end. Our nation will see an end one day. It broke the heart of Jeremiah to know the final outcome of his beloved nation. He is called the "Weeping Prophet". He wrote an entire book about weeping...Lamentations. If he were living today I probably would call him a "Cry baby." For those who are concerned with "Political Correctness" the term "cry baby" may be too flagrant for you. You would call him "Sensitive." (Said with sarcasm)
But, it's okay to love your nation and desire the people in your nation to turn away from their sin and turn to God. That was Jeremiah's desire. God put His message into the mouth of Jeremiah to challenge the people to turn to God.
It's the same reason God has put His message and mandate into our lives. Share the Gospel. Defeat Satan. Gain souls for Jesus. Never stop!
As with Jeremiah...it's not our responsibility to save people...that's God's responsibility. Our job is to be faithful to share the message that God has given to us.
May God Bless You!
Don Betts
DBEA/campus320
DBEAWINNING.COM
TO GOD BE ALL GLORY!