In case you've never checked it out you can find a link on the left of my blog. Captain Stephen Court and the Salvos (Salvationists in Australia) like many places around the world, are still fired up to win the world for Jesus.
This is a partial re-post from his blog from March 28th...
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We want to win the world for Jesus.
a. That sounds really hard!
To win the world for Jesus takes evangelism and discipleship. But the thing is, it is really hard to get people saved and discipled. And it is deceitfully easier to do other things, like feeding them and clothing them. It is easier to sleep at night when you haven’t seen anyone saved for awhile and that you are not discipling anyone knowing that you have fed a family or clothed a poor beggar. And that isn’t true of individuals only. It goes for denominations, too.
b. It sounds pretty narrow-minded.
To win the world for Jesus suggests that other means aren’t don’t work. And that sounds so judgemental of other religions and other philosophies and other means of seeking God. And yet no other thing works. None of them deals with the cry that births every sincere religion: a. how to connect with God; and, b. how to deal with our problem of sin. Rituals and self-abasement, or a series of works and attempts to earn an audience with God have proved futile for centuries in various religious guises. And every attempt to deal with sin aside from Jesus is equally futile. Jesus is the only name under heaven by which we must be saved.
c. It sounds sort of arrogant.
To win the world for Jesus indicates that other things aren’t worthy. Surely there are other fantastic things to which to devote your lives. You could invest yourself in feeding hungry people. Or you could throw away your life in ending human trafficking. Or you could fight to save all of the AIDS orphans. Or you could try to find homes for homeless people. Or you could … The list goes on ad infinitum. The point is, these are all important things to do. Hungry people need food. Traffic victims need freedom. Orphans need parenting. Homeless people need homes. But if any or all of these alternatives become more important than winning the world for Jesus then the result is more than likely to be well-fed, rescued and freed, adopted and parented, and bedded people populating hell. On the other hand, if you throw your life away to win the world for Jesus then a bunch of people will get saved and go to heaven, and a bunch more people will be on the receiving end of God’s mercy as you and those converts feed and free and adopt and construct, both as a supernatural overflow of God’s love in your lives and as a means to win the world for Jesus.
d. It sounds to much.
To win the world for Jesus seems condemnatory of anything less. Some would aim for authentic Christian community. Others pine for the ‘good old days’, an era that almost inevitably has grown better by the year. And more than a few look for modest success. But who sets these as life purposes? Authentic Christian community is a means, not an end. The good old days are meant to spur us on to love and good deeds, not stall us in mission. Modest success puts limits on God by aiming subjectively at relative comparison, rather than global mandate. Don’t confuse means for ends. Don’t misuse the lessons of the past. Don’t settle for the world’s perspective on success. Win the world for Jesus.
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After hearing the good news of Jesus and the commands He has has given us as His followers, it sounds like our Savior deserves nothing less.
I don't recall which of the Booth's said it, but I read once the phrase, "let's win the whole world for Jesus, there is no reason He shouldn't have it"!
Live holy, Preach Jesus!
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