The question is bound to come up for any believer (hopefully).  In order to fulfill my calling in Jesus, do I need to quit my full time job?

As controversial as it is, I still don’t back down from my statement on my front page, that there is no such thing as a part-time christian.  I believe every follower of Jesus is supposed to serve Him full time.

With that being said, I believe we are all in a process of becoming who we are called to be in Christ.  One person may be at one point on their path while another somewhere else.  So it’s not appropriate to force where you are in your path on other people.  I often tell people that I wasn’t in a position to do what I’m doing now a year and a half ago, it’s all been a process.

So, in that light, read this as motivation and an encouragement to live FULLY for Jesus.

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    Man this brother  Patrick Ersig lays it down in this message!!  It’s the exact same message of this website.  "Everybody born again is a missionary."   He does an excellent job at convicting and motivating the believer to just "Go".  Stop making excuses and just "Go". 

I love this message, I hope you take some time to listen.  No, not just listen, but ACT!  Go, preach the gospel!

http://gamma.zshare.net/download/2871e4806485446482bcc0a8ecd33d8d/1171132384/929509/patrick_ersig___you_are_a_missionary.mp3

[TAGS]Patrick Erisg,detroit,michigan,street preaching,street preacher,preaching the gospel,witnessing,evangelism,sharing Jesus[/TAGS]

   Brother David Hogan has been the most influential person in my life when it comes to the gospel.  He is a missionary to Mexico where he says he has personally been in on 28 people being raised from the dead, and his ministry "Freedom Ministries" has reported over 400 people total.  He says that’s great but there are thousands who haven’t gotten up.  His experiences and boldness has encouraged me to a great degree. 

This audio clip is one of my favorites.  He teaches how to obey Jesus in Matthew 10:7,8.  "Go, preach the Kingdom of Heaven is here, heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out devils and cleanse the lepers".  You’ll love this audio.

STREAM - quote7-howtogo.m3u
DOWNLOAD - quote7-howtogo.mp3

[TAGS]David Hogan,Preaching the gospel,evangelism,sharing Jesus,witnessing[/TAGS]

    One-on-one witnessing can be pretty intimidating.  There really is no "easy" way of breaking the ice to be able to share Jesus with someone.  No matter what you do, there will always be that split second where you’re just going to have to bite the bullet and just say something.  The more you do it, the better you will become and the easier it will be.  God will teach you AS you do it.  He’s big into on-the-job training.  (see Matthew 13:12) 
 
   The more we get over the worries of offending someone or being "effective" the more free we will become.  It’s quite comforting to find this verse:

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God

    If you go into it knowing and understanding that you will appear foolish it really makes it easier.  It also helps you distinguish "those that are perishing".  As Americans, we need to stop trying to package the gospel in something more acceptable to the world.  Jesus never did.  The gospel message has been and will always be offensive to the world, ALWAYS.  It doesn’t mean we need to be weird, foolish, or crazy on purpose, it just means we need to be real about it.  What we have is better than what the world has, and we need to act like it is. 
 
    How would you feel if you had $1,000,000 to give to anybody you wanted (knowing that you have an unmeasurable amount of income in the bank and it isn’t an issue at all to give a million away)?  You would probably be excited to have the opportunity to give it to someone.  You find the first poor, beaten down person you run across and approach them thinking that they will jump for joy at the thought of all their worries fading away now that they have this money.  However, as you approach the filthy, hungry, poor person they begin to curse you.  Not knowing you have the answer to all their problems in your pocket.  You don’t let that bother you because you know once they see the gift you have for them they will jump for joy and dance at their new turn of luck.  You’ve put up with the curses and insults and you’re inches away from the person.  Now is the time!! Here it comes, the moment both of you were waiting for, only he didn’t know it yet.  You pull out your money and hand it to him.  Instead of him jumping and dancing, he curses more!  He hits your hand away and becomes increasingly violent pushing you and your gift away because of pride.
 
    What a surprise!  Imagine someone turning down the greatest gift the world has to offer.  Now, how would you feel about your gift?  You wouldn’t throw it away, or hide it, and never try to give it to someone else.  Instead, you would have compassion and pity for that person who couldn’t recognize what the gift would do for them.  Actually, if someone turned down our million dollars it would almost have an opposite affect to the point where we would say "This guy’s an idiot!".  We would never take on the feelings of being ashamed or embarrassed.  Instead we would be ashamed or embarrassed for the person who doesn’t receive it.  You wouldn’t be discouraged or embarrassed because it has nothing to do with you.  You’re just offering a gift.
 
    It’s no different than the greatest gift the universe has to offer…the gift of the Kingdom of God and restoration to the Father in heaven.
 
    Just as you wouldn’t hide your million dollars and never attempt to give it out again you can’t hide your testimony and the message of the Kingdom if someone refuses it.  It’s just as foolish, even moreso.
 
    That’s easy to understand and comprehend, but I don’t think that’s the real problem.  I think the root of the problem is that most of us don’t believe that what we have is better than what the world has to offer.  We want to believe it is, but our actions prove otherwise.  Until we believe everything Jesus told us, we will feel like we’re offering the world monopoly money expecting them to believe it will make their lives better.  What we have is real, and we have to believe that first before we can ever expect the world to believe it.

    I’ve been preaching on the streets now for a few months.  I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a veteran and I’m not an expert.  There are many people with more experience and there’s many that probably do it better than me.

    But preaching on a street corner sure does give God a chance to teach you a few things!  It’s “on-the-job training” and I’m coming to find out that that is a primary way that the Lord teaches us, while we’re actually doing it ("it" being His word), being vunerable to making mistakes.  It’s in our weaknesses that He is made strong in us.  I’m going to start writing out some of the lessons I’m learning while preaching on the streets.  I hope the Lord can use them to help and encourage you.

    So, the first question is, why?  I can see your faces as you drive by.  Some are confused, ashamed, embarassed, mad, and luckily a few that are excited!  (If you want the fear of man to be broken off of your life, get out on the streets and preach, it’ll get wiped out real quick.  Either you’ll break under the faces or you’ll explode with courage and boldness.)

    I’ve finally decided that God wants me on the streets to preach the gospel to the world.  Before, I wasn’t to sure.  But what were my options?  The question really became, why wouldn’t I preach the gospel on the streets?

    I’ve forsaken the world system and now I have a lot of free time on my hands.  So, time isn’t an issue.  And for those that are about to use it, TIME IS NO EXCUSE.  If you don’t have time to spend time with God, read the word, and do the word, then you have some issues you need to work out.  Click Here For Help And Encouragement.

    It’s real simple.  We’ve confused it so much, I know because I was confused myself(and I’m sure I still am). 

Here’s the simplicity of it:
If I have the message of the gospel, why wouldn’t I preach on a corner?

The answers:
Fear
Pride 

    I didn’t realize this until after I started preaching, but looking back, that’s what it was.
 
I was afraid of:
-What people would think
-What I would look like
-Not knowing what to say

 
    Pride kept me from addressing those issues honestly.  I was so prideful to think that I didn’t belong on that corner, that what I had to do was more important than looking like an idiot.  It’s not that I thought people shouldn’t be doing it, just not me, it’s not my style.  Well, what was my style?  It was hiding behind religious excuses like “I need to be studying”, or “I need to be praying” instead.  And to be honest, I thought I was too good for it.  What I had to tell people was way more complex and smart that I couldn’t stand on a corner to preach it, I needed focused attention so people could really see how smart I was.

    Thank the Lord I’m set free from that!!!!  I didn’t even realize that I was bound until the first proclaimation I made on that sidewalk in Tulsa.  Since then, things have become increasingly more simple and clear.  The only thing I need to know is how to preach “Repent, the Kingdom of God is here.”   I thank God it’s so simple.  I don’t need to know how to do anything else other than to say “Repent, the Kingdom of God is here” (and then demonstrate it, which the Lord is teaching me).  It’s getting more and more fun to preach it too.

    Why preach the gospel on the streets?  It’s simple, because people need to hear it.  There are people that will never step foot in a church to hear the gospel, and you have to catch them in their world doing what they do…and that’s on the street.  Interupting their lives for the gospel’s sake.  They need to be interuppted and confronted with a decision to make, accept Jesus or deny Him.  Those are the only two options I preach and I let them know that those are the only two options.

    If you’ve never thought about preaching on the streets, or if you have and have been to scared too, or if you think you’re too good for it.  Ask God what He would want you to do.  Read the gospels and see how Jesus did it and see how He told His disciples to share the message and measure that against your life…how does it compare?  Make a decision in light of that and begin to walk towards it.

    Have courage, be strengthened, have boldness and preach the Gospel!  There is nothing more important you could possibly do.

[tags]street preaching,open air preaching,street preacher,street minister,how to preach[/tags]