How Can They Hear?

Greetings,

Often times I am asked about helping our last friends come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Personally, I believe and teach that every believer should be able to share the Gospel with their lost friends, family, and neighbors.  However, I also know that many do not come to faith in Christ the first time that they hear the Gospel.  So what are some additional ways that you can share the message of Christ?

One of the simplest ways for you to do this is to take advantage of social media as a witnessing tool.  United Baptist Church maintains a YouTube channel and a Podcast.  Both of these are updated weekly and provide sound Biblical preaching a teaching that can be easily shared.  The following is a step by step guide to help you use these tools on social media.

The first step is to subscribe to the YouTube channel and the Podcast.

To subscribe to the YouTube channel first you need to log into YouTube with a gmail account.  If you already have a gmail account then you are set to go.  Once you have logged in you can search for the ubcriverton channel or you can click this link:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS2EwYpkvTMxMX_UC3mB4aA
Then click on the subscribe button on the channel page.  Now you are subscribed and each time we upload a video you will be notified.

To subscribe to the podcast you need to log onto www.ubcriverton.podbean.com
From this page you can find instructions for following the podcast on your computer or following the podcast on your smartphone or tablet.  Either way this will allow you to get automatic updates to the podcast.

After subscribing, the second step is sharing these updates on your social media sites.  This is as simple as clicking the share button on the YouTube video and podcast updates.  You can then share these updates to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or any other social media site.  A second way to share these updates are to click on the updates, copy the web address for the updated action, and then paste that web address into a post on your favorite social media applications.

For those who are on Facebook, you can also subscribe to the United Baptist Church page and as updates posted you can share them directly to your wall for your friends to see as well.  Search for @ubcriverton and then click the "Like" button to receive our updates to this page on your wall.

These actions not only will keep you up to date with all the updates from United Baptist Church to YouTube and the podcast, but this provides an easy way for you to share with your friends.  You can then follow up with your friends by asking if they watched or listened and discover what they thought, any questions that they had, or if they want to attend a service with you in person.

Nothing takes the place of sharing the Gospel personally and passionately with those close to you.  This is simply a medium to furthering the Gospel work that you have already begun in the life of your friends.  Take just a few minutes to add these tools to your outreach toolbox and then use them faithfully as we seek to share with others.

God bless

This Kind Can Come Out By Nothing But Prayer and Fasting

Over the last several weeks, I have been reading the works of E.M. Bounds.  In Bounds work The Necessity of Prayer, he reminds his readers an event in the life of Jesus found in Mark 9.  Immediately following the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus, Peter, James, and John return to the other apostles to discover them overwhelmed by a man whose child is afflicted by a demon.  This man brought his son to the apostles for them to help him, but they could not cast him out.  Jesus, after meeting the need, returns to the home he is staying in.  The apostles ask him why they had been unable to cast out the demon, and Jesus responds with these words, "This Kind Can Come Out By Nothing But Prayer and Fasting."

I wonder how often we forget these words of Jesus.  In the church today, we have programs, methods, studies, and strategies to assist us in reaching people, preaching more effectively, make better disciples, and growing our children into effective Christians.  However, we as a church are reaching fewer people, preaching with less faithfulness to the Scriptures, making poor disciples if we are truly making any at all, and seeing our children wander from the faith like never before.

Perhaps we need to be reminded that hearts and lives are not changed because of leadership strategies and marketing formulas.  Instead lives are changed as a result of the faithful prayer and fasting of God's people.  Think for a moment of one lost soul you have been praying to see come to faith in Christ.  If there is not a name that comes to mind, then perhaps we can begin to understand why the lost around us still walk in darkness.  If a name does come to mind, then I want you to ask yourself what have you ever given up in order to spend time in focused prayer for their salvation?  Have you fasted a meal, an hour of television time, a Sunday afternoon football game, or any other thing of value in your life to seeking the salvation of this soul on your knees in prayer?

Think of the ministry and work of the church.  When was the last time you spent any time praying for your Sunday school class or your Sunday school teacher?  When was the last time your spent time in prayer for your Minister of Music or your Deacon chairman?  If you do not have to dust off the cobwebs of your mind to remember that time, then ask yourself when was the last time you fasted in any way over the work and ministry of your church to the membership of your church or in its battle against the lostness of your community?

Could we be losing the war for souls and failing in the creation of disciples because we have forgotten the essential place of prayer and fasting within our lives?  Could we see a fresh move of God within our lives, our families, our church, and our communities if we would find our place before the throne of God in deep prayer?  Would we see the deliverance we have long sought if we would commit to come to God in fasting of our desires in order to pursue Him in prayer?

I will not guarantee that fasting and prayer will bring forth the move of God that we seek, but I can guarantee that the failure to remember that this kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting will assure that we will not see the move of God that we are starving for.

Take time this week to pray.  Pray for the lost, pray for your church, pray for your family, and pray for yourself.  Surrender a meal, an hour of television, or some other item of value to you in your week and invest that time in genuine heartfelt prayer.  As we take the words of Christ seriously in the face of our present circumstances, I do believe that he will respond seriously to our pleas and that he will be glorified within our lives.

God bless