Suzy B Software 2/Suzy B Software CD-ROM 2 (1994).iso/christin/gosplads/shot_f.txt

Text File | 1995-05-02 | 14KB | 336 lines

                              [SHORT SHOTS 6th file of 7]

     GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER

     There is a quote from the New Testament which is used
very commonly in giving the invitation to receive Jesus
Christ as Savior and Lord.  It has long been used with
children as an invitation verse.  In the book of Revelation,
the Risen Christ said,
     "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears
my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will
dine with him, and he with Me." (Revelation 3:20 NAS)

     Children who hear this and respond to "receive Jesus
into their hearts," often visualize a door opening up in
their chest, and a miniature Jesus coming to live in their
blood-pump.

     If these children are not discipled and nurtured and
challenged in their growing-up years, as they get into their
teens or young adulthood, their childhood conversion
experience bears little apparent relevancy to the exciting
adult temptations they are now facing.

     Tragically, many who professed Christ as children fall
away from the faith as teens or young adults.  Many simply
become "lukewarm" churchgoers and live much the same lives
as their unchurched neighbors.

     These words in Revelation were actually addressed to
a professing Christian group which had grown worldly and
"lukewarm." Notice that the word "heart" is not used.  This
is an attempt to book a "dinner date."  You invite someone
over for dinner when you want to socialize, make friends,
and have a good time.  You have friends over for a PARTY.

     Instead of opening a door in your chest like
Seethreepeeoh, why not invite Jesus "over for dinner."
You will find that He is a fascinating adult companion.
We suggest that you unplug the Tube, take the phone off
the hook, and curl up with the Gospel of John.  Before you
start, ask the Lord Jesus to meet with you and reveal
Himself to you and begin to show you that abundant life
which is a close walk with Him.

     It is a GOOD thing to receive Christ as a YOUNG child,
especially in a family that prays together and talks about
the contents and applications of the Scriptures together.
EVERY CHILD OF GOD needs continuous teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in right living.  This can only come
as Christians minister the Word to each other.

     Keep the love-walk FRESH, walking with your closest
Friend day-by-day.  Help the fires burn hotter by fanning
each other's flames.  A church dropout is a reproach to God,
but maybe is understandable.  (See Rev. 3:16.) A lukewarm
Christian is NAUSEATING.

     We warmly invite you either to come to Jesus for the
first time, or to come back to Him.  Invite the King of
Kings "over for dinner."  He is the most fascinating Person
in the Universe.  Let's party.
                                        [SHOT32 Clyde Price]

[Note to all future editors and typesetters:  The word in
the 2nd paragraph, 2nd sentence, 6th word is "dis_ci_pled."
Please don't "correct" it.  English verb "to disciple" as
equivalent to Greek verb "MATHETEUO".  ccp]




     PROJECT IDEAS

     One project you could do with some expense would be to
publicize a free barbecue or fish-fry (something to EAT) for
anybody in the neighborhood who wanted to come.

     Book a Christian singer or group, or an evangelistic
(SHORT) movie, such as "The Gospel Blimp".  Announce the
time and date in the local paper AND with handbills door-to-
door in your saturation area.  You could omit the press
release if you wanted to focus on the smaller immediate
area.

     I suggest four elements for your handbill & ad:

     1)Design the handbill/ad as a "Free Ticket" with space
for a) a family street address, b) the names of people in
the family  c) church affiliation, if any,  d) number of
adults and children coming to the Shindig,  e) infants
needing childcare, and f) their reservation number.  g) Note
that this is valid for the DOOR PRIZE only if filled out
completely.  At the cost of a Big Bear or a camera, you'll
have a lot more tickets filled in.

     2) If you do not have unlimited food &/or money, you
may want to ask for RSVP by phone to get a reservation
number to write on the ticket, and at that point reassure
them that there is no charge and no offering will be taken.
You just want to meet them.  If you feel that reservations
and numbers are too mechanical, have a "commando squad" with
cash ready to raid a nearby Burger Doodle.

     3) INCLUDE VERY CLEAR DIRECTIONS TO YOUR BUILDING.  If
possible, meet on the same property where your church meets.
That way everybody who gets there for the food will know how
to find their way back for services.  If you are on public
transit, include bus route numbers.

     4) Print on the back a clear, upbeat, non-threatening
gospel message.

     You shouldn't saturate the area in person with
handbills EVERY WEEK, but several times a year you can plan
special events as an excuse to "blitz" the area:  A
watermelon picnic, carwash by the teens, VBS week or
Backyard Bible Clubs, special meetings with a non-local
preacher (ask me if I'm available). ...YOU think of some.

     When you give stuff away, try HARD to get their
address, phone number, and names of family members so  your
evangelism team can courteously return the visit.

     I hope you will continue week by week with ongoing
visitation evangelism, but with periodic (maybe up to
monthly) special events, you can rate feature articles in
the local papers and achieve much greater visibility in your
neighborhood.

     PREACH THE WORD!

      CCP





     "JESUS IS LORD!"

     Do you know people who claim to have Christ as Savior
but not as Lord?  Do you see any inconsistency between
accepting a free "fire insurance policy" fro Hell, and
deliberately refusing to follow Christ in daily life?

     An often quoted passage about salvation was written by
the apostle Paul to the church in Rome:

     "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you
shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting
in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting
in salvation." (Romans 10:9-10 NAS)

     If you were to "confess" to the murder of Abraham
Lincoln, you would not be "confessing", you would be LYING.
If you "confess" Jesus as Lord, but he isn't really the Lord
of your life, you are not "confessing", you are LYING.

     The same words from Greek, PISTIS and PISTEUO, are
translated into English as  faith, belief,trust; or  to have
faith, to believe, to trust or entrust.

     If you are depending on the FACTS of the
substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and
you confess Him truly as the Lord of your life, then
according to this passage of Scripture you are SAVED.

     "Jesus is Lord" is not a slogan to parrot mindlessly.
It is an eternal truth.  Jesus Christ IS the Lord of the
Universe, whether you believe it, or LIKE it, or not.  And
someday every knee in heaven and on earth and in hell will
bow, and every tongue will admit seriously that "Jesus is
Lord."  Voluntarily or under compulsion, this means even
YOU.  (See Phil. 2:5-11; and read the entire little letter
to the Philippians.)

     We call on you to be certain that you have deliberately
submitted to Jesus Christ as the Lord of your own life.  "He
who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who DOES
NOT OBEY the Son SHALL NOT SEE LIFE, but the WRATH OF GOD
abides on him."  (John 3:36 NAS)

     Don't wait until you're forced to bow the knee.
Voluntarily surrender to Jesus.
                                           [SHOT33 Clyde Price]




     KNOW FOR CERTAIN

     "Oh, I don't think it's possible to know before you die
whether you're going to heaven or hell.  Don't you have to
wait 'til it's all over to be judged?"  If you wait until
then, friend, it will be too late!  The Bible teaches
clearly that people can KNOW for certain whether or not they
are "going to heaven" BEFORE they die.

     The apostle John wrote,  "And the witness is this, that
God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the
Son of God does not have the life.  These things I have
written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in
order that you may know that you have eternal life." (I John
5:11-13 NAS)

     Eternal life is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Through faith in Him, we can receive forgiveness from all
our sins, power over sin in our earthly lives, an abundant
and purposeful life here on earth, and knowledge that we
have God's eternal life as a PRESENT POSSESSION.

     The apostle John openly announced that his Gospel was a
deliberate work of TRUE "propaganda".  He wrote it for the
purpose of PERSUADING people to believe certain facts, and
to entrust themselves to Jesus Christ (the same purpose as
this article).

     He wrote, "Many other signs therefore Jesus also
performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not
written in this book [the Gospel of John]; but these have
been WRITTEN THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His
name."  (John 20:30-31 NAS)

     If you haven't yet trusted Christ, we challenge you to
read our "propaganda", the Gospel of John, and ask God to
show you inwardly whether or not this is true.  You can
really KNOW.  Entrust yourself to Jesus.
                                         [SHOT34 Clyde Price]




     Do you want OUT?

     What country were you born in?  Have you ever crossed a
border between countries?  Do you have the same citizenship
you had at birth?

     If you suddenly discovered that you were standing in
the country called "Eternal Death" and realized that you
were its lifelong citizen, would you be interested in
emigrating to the commonwealth of "Eternal Life" and
obtaining citizenship there?

     The Lord Jesus Christ said, "Truly, truly, I say to
you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has
eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has
passed out of death into life." (John 5:24 NAS)

     In the letter to the Romans, especially the fifth
chapter, the apostle Paul explains how every human being
since Adam and Eve has been born into a state of spiritual
separation from God, and as a result of the nature we were
born with and the actions we each have committed, we all
qualify to be citizens in good standing of the State of
Eternal Death.

     If you are apart from Christ, you can only await your
physical death and final judgment to assume residence in
your permanent quarters: the lake of fire.

     However, the Lord Jesus paid the penalty for sinners on
the cross, and He offers free migration and new citizenship
in His Kingdom for all who will put their faith in Him as
Savior and King.  All such spiritual refugees "pass out" of
Death into the new state of Life.

     The Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ is more than an
invitation to flee wrath and become a mere Displaced Person
or a ragged refugee.  Through the New Birth wrought by the
resurrection of Christ, the Lord Jesus provides a place in
the family of God for you, and status as a co-inheritor with
Himself, IF ONLY you will put your trust in Him alone for
salvation.

     We invite you to read the Gospel of John and the letter
to the Romans for yourself.  We'd like to meet you and try
to answer your questions.  But don't wait.

     Do it now.  Put your trust in Jesus.
                                         [SHOT35 Clyde Price]




     ETERNITY BEGINS NOW

     Many people involved in traditional forms of religion
think that no one can know before death whether they will go
to heaven or not; you must wait, they think, 'til you're
judged to find out.  This is a dangerous fallacy, because if
you wait until then, it will be TOO LATE.

     The apostle John addresses genuine Christians, "These
things I have written to you who believe in the name of the
Son of God in order that you may know that you have eternal
life."  (I John 5:13 NAS)  He did NOT say, "in order that
you may hope to receive it someday."  He said to believers
in the Lord Jesus Christ, "in order that you may KNOW that
you HAVE eternal life"  and, in fact, have it as a present
and permanent possession.

     Eternal life does not begin with physical death.
Physical death only confirms for eternity the spiritual
state a person is already in.

     The eternal life spoken about in the Bible begins with
the New Birth, when a sinner, you for instance, transfers
trust from whatever you HAD been trusting, to faith in Jesus
Christ alone to be your sin-bearing Savior and resurrected
King.

     You can find in the 4th book in the New Testament, the
Gospel of John, and in the three letters of John near the
end of the New Testament, clear confirmation that we are not
simply making this up.  Read them for yourself.  This is the
plain, though widely neglected, teaching of the Bible.

     If you already HAVE eternal life through faith in our
Lord Jesus Christ, we'd like to meet you.  We always enjoy
meeting members of God's Forever Family.

     If you have not yet trusted Christ for His gift of
Life, we'd like to have one of our workers talk with you or
write to you and attempt to answer your questions.  But we
urge you not to wait.

     Do it NOW.  Put your trust in Jesus.
                                         [SHOT36 Clyde Price]
[next file is more general and more personal "baker's dozen" stuff.
end of 6th file of 7]