WHY?

[T.L. Hawkins]

We're concerned for the sinner in China
And the heathen in Mandalay,
But say, do we care, have we offered a prayer
For the neighbor just over the way?

We say we would go with the Gospel
To lighten dark Africa's shore, but
Have we spoken a word in the Name of the Lord
To people who live just next door?

The person who lives down the highway,
Who looks so forbidding and grim;
Do we have no "call" to witness at all
Or speak of the Savior to him?

We'd take the Gospel to savages,
We'd cross the stormy tide;
But we will not "tell out" what the Gospel's about
To the fellow who works by our side!

We'd tell of our wonderful Savior
And His love we have found so sweet
To some far-off lot, but certainly not
To folks we will meet on the street!

Oh, we would be missionaries
And go out the lost ones to seek.
We'll send a preacher to Hindustan
And we'll buy New Testaments for Japan,
But never a word will we speak!

BUT, WHY?

[John]

2Timothy 3:16 - 17! It is also up to us as individuals Brother Luckett and not to depend on man but depend on God. I do agree in that when we have been blessed by the Spirit of God in His Word we are suppose to share the Gospel. The problem is there are too many sharing the Gospel wrongly and I"m sure you'll agree with that. Guess what, if I don't know the Word for myself, I'll be led down the wrong path. God bless you always Brother Luckett.

[John]

I have to agree with you wholeheartedly on your post Brother Newman but remember just because something is trying to look like something doesn't make it so. Not everything that says I come in the name of Jesus is of Jesus! That is of Satan. You spoke of two Prosperity Preachers so once again, one with a title doesn't mean anything either. It's not what they say but what they do that matters. Now what they say matters if it is from God. You tell me if you think what they say is from God! I don't, but that is my opinion. This religion in America (most of it) is soley about the dollar bill and not about salvation and winning souls to keep those souls out of the lake of fire. Not everything is spiritual just because the name says so either.

Now for the bibles, I totally agree. God wouldn't need more than one bible because He is perfect the first time every time. I'm not getting in to this because I've gone through this issue too many times here. Answer your question, I have one Bible that I strictly go by and that is the KJV and others to show how much they have taken and added in His Word for study only. I truly believe from studies that Satan has his line from the Alexandria, Egypt line that has corrupted all modern versions that listen and follow Westcott and Hort and I have the KJV that was started by the Apostle Paul from Antioch, Syria. Two distinct places and differences. God bless.

[T.L. Hawkins]

Please don't misinterpret. I'm not saying we should NOT go out into the WORLD, but that we should NOT forget to witness to those in our everyday midsts? How many can say that they witness to people continually. (i.e. grocery store, laundry mat, gym etc). A simple question usually works for me: Do you know Jesus?

[Scott R. Newman]

Rom 15:20 Making it my purpose not to take the good news where Christ was named, so that my work might not be resting on that of others;

We are commanded to be witnesses BOTH at home and to the utter most parts of the world.

Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

North American Christians live isolated from reality, not only from the needs of the poor overseas, but even from the poor in their own cities. Amidst all the affluence live millions of terribly poor people left behinid as Christians have moved into the suburbs. I found that believs are ready to get involved in almost any activity that looks spiritual but allows them to escape their responsibility to the Gospel.

One morning, for example, I picked up a popular Christian magazine containing many interesting articles, stories and reports from all over the world, most written by famous Chritians leaders in the West. Inoticed that this magazine offered ads for 21 Christian colleges, seminaries and correspondence courses; five different English translations of the Bible; seven conferences and retrets; five new Christians films; 19 commentaries and devotional books; seven Christans health or diet programs and five fund-raising services.

But that was not all. There were ads for all kinds of products and services: counseling, chaplaincy services, writing courses, church steeples, choir robes, wall crosses, baptisteries and water hearters, T-shirts, records, tapes, adoption agencies, tracts, poems, gifts, book clubs and pen pals. It was all rather impressive. probably none of these things was wrong in and by itself, but it bothered me that one nation should have such spiritual luxury while 40,000 people were dying in the unreached and unevangelized world every day without hearing the Gospel even once.

If the affluence of America and the affluence of Christians impresses me even more. The United States has about 5,000 Chritians book and gift stores, carrying varieties of products beyond my ability to imagine, and many secular stores (Walmart, K-mart, Sams Club, Target, etc) also carry religious books. all this while 6,800 of the world's 13,500 languages are still without a single portion of the Bible published in their own language or heart language of understanding.

Eighty five percent of all Bibles printed today are in English for the nine percent of the world who read English. Eighty percent of the world's people have nevr owned a bible while Americans have an average of four in every household. How many Bibles do you have in your home?

Besides books, 8,000 Christian magazines and newspapers flourish. More than 1,600 Christian radio stations broadcast the Gospel full-time, not to mention TBN, 700 club and the many televangelists that dominate Sunday morning. I've met many closet Christians in my walk who tell me they get their daily dose of the Gospel by tuning into the likes of T.D. Jakes and Creflo Dollar while laying in bed on Sunday morning before they get up for breakfast. While many countries don't even have their first Christian radio station, and even if they do most wouldn't be able to hear it since many in the world have no electricity. A tiny 0.1 percent of all Christian radio and televisin programming is directed toward the unevangelized world.

The saddest observation I can make about most of the religious communication activity of the Western world is this: Little if any, of this media is designed to reach unbelievers. Almost all is entertainment for the saints. When was the last time you saw on any of TD Jakes or Dollars television program did you witness an altar call lately?

The United States, with its over 1.1 million and growing congregations (that are half full) or groups, is blessed with 1.5 million full-time Christian workers, or one full-time religious leader for every 182 people in the nation. What a difference this is from the rest of the world, where more than 2 billion people are still unreached with the Gospel. The unreached or hidden peoples" have only one missionary working for every 78,000 people, and there are still 1,240 distinct cultural groups in the world without a single church among them to preach the Gospel.

These are the masses for whom Christ wept and died for!

Even the world doesn't operate in such an erroneous manner to put a McDonalds on every corner, that would be a great waste of resource wouldn't it?

[John]

Sometimes flowery words touch our hearts but let's be real about things also. We should start at home because as Paul said (though speaking to those wanting to be in leadership) if your home is out of order then how can you lead someplace else (paraphraysing) but you get my drift. At the same time we also see that those in your own home or closest to you remembers you for who you were most times and just don't listen. Remember the problems Jesus had when in His own town! But to me if those closest to you don't listen then you have to move on to speak to those that will and keep on because the Spirit may touch someone.

[Burgess Gordon]

Amen Amen Amen! The Spirit of God is speaking, do not harden your hearts to His voice

[Scott R. Newman]

"I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light" -- John Keith Falconer

"If God wills the evangelization of the world, and you refuse to support missions, then you are opposed to the will of God." -- Oswald J. Smith, Missionary Statesman

"The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become." -- Henry Martyn, missionary to India and Persia

"He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose" -- Jim Elliot, missionary martyr who lost his life in the late 1950's trying to reach the Auca Indians of Ecuador

"No one has the right to hear the gospel twice, while there remains someone who has not heard it once." -- Oswald J. Smith (and in America they have heard the Gospel more than once)

"This generation of Christians is responsible for this generation of souls on the earth!" -- Keith Green

"Someone asked Will the heathen who have never heard the Gospel be saved? It is more a question with me whether we -- who have the Gospel and fail to give it to those who have not -- can be saved." -- Charles Spurgeon

“God had only one Son and he made that Son a missionary.” -- David Livingston

[T.L. Hawkins]

LOVE Your NEIGHBOR! CHARITY BEGINS AT "HOME"!
If we can't show enough love and compassion to those closest to us to share the word with THEM, how can we say we truly are doing what God has called us to do?

[biblelover]

that is great it makes you think about we are trying to reach the world and is missing home

[Eric Hancock]

Deep
But so true,,I always say how can we save the hood when everyone in our homes are going to HELL