We have been preaching messages under this series title for well over one-year. Time will not permit me to review all the material we have covered so far, but you can obtain audio recordings of the teachings through email request at dwjoyce12@yahoo.com.
Turn in your Bible to Jerimiah 10:23. The way that a man should go in life is not known to him, and without gaining knowledge of God’s plan and following it, man will fail and destroy himself. When you think about it, it’s senseless for a man to even try to navigate through life without God. Man is made after the similitude of God. (Genesis 1:26) Since God is his Creator, how can a man know his purpose and plan on earth without being enlightened by God about it? Yet, most people in this world, including many Christians, have little or no idea about what they to do on earth. As a result, most people lean to their own understanding and ambitions, and live in chaos, desperation, and gross failure. No matter how many things a person may achieve in life, honors that may be bestowed upon them, and possessions they may acquire—without Jesus Christ at the helm of the person’s life, in the end, it will amount to nothing! (John 15:5)
Jesus Christ, came into the world to reveal God to mankind, and the plan of God for everyone who would believe on Him. (John 1:1& 14, 14:8-11). The plan of God for our lives should not be a mystery to us. In many scriptures in the Bible, Jesus is plainly recorded telling his disciples in what God wants every believer to do. “God has called us, made us, and sent us forth to be “Reapers of the lost.” (John 4: 34-38 & Matthew 9:37-38). The lost are two types of people in this world. First, those who have not yet heard and believed on the name of Jesus Christ and received Him as Lord. Secondly, people in this world who I call “drifters.” These are folks who say they believe in Jesus Christ, call Him Lord, and on various forms they check the religious box coded, “Christian,” but for whatever reason they are not actively membered to a local church. It is not okay for people to claim to be Christians and refuse to regularly attend church services. All believers are commanded under the New Covenant to assemble themselves with fellow believers in church and to love on another. (Hebrews 10:25)
Reapers perform four vitally important services for and with Jesus Christ. Regularly they, (1) invite the lost to attend church services, (2) share their faith with the lost in the form of a testimony about Jesus, (3) win the lost to Christ through preaching the gospel, and (4) make disciples of Christian converts.
For nearly two generations, Christians in the United States have rarely reaped souls for the Lord. Survey data show that 95 percent of Christians have never won a single person to Christ, and 85 percent have never invited any one to a church service. What about you? What’s in your soul winning portfolio? In the last year, 5 years, or 10 years; how many people have you invited to church, and won to Christ? Nearly every Christian has heard scriptures preached to them in church related to the “Great Commission”—where Jesus commanded His disciples to go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15-18, Matthew 24:14, 28:18-20, & Acts 1:8). Next week, we will examine the root reason why most Christians are ignoring the command of Jesus Christ to reap the lost.