Luke 9:23-24,“23And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”

In our daily lives as believers we meet with trials and temptations that tend to pull us away from Christ and our divine assignment of preaching the gospel to the unsaved. Living the Christian life will often involve some self-denial and suffering. We will be misunderstood and even persecuted but we are required to stand strong. A life of comfort is not God’s primary aim for keeping us here on earth; we are kept here to be fishers of men and fishing for lost souls involves some discomfort. How much are you ready to suffer to further the cause of the Kingdom of God here in your own world? Jesus showed us an example by enduring the cross.

We are blessed when we obey and serve him and do that which is pleasing in his sight. We will have all eternity to enjoy comfort but now is time to work; it’s time bring light to all those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and guide their feet into the way of peace Luke 1:79. Christ is the only way to make peace between sinful man and God. Until a man has peace with God he is doomed. We must do all in our power to bring them to Christ and it is pure joy to suffer in the process if need be.

This is not talking about enduring sickness or poverty. These have all been freely given to us and we must find out how to receive and enjoy them. But we must not make these our primary pursuit. We are to strive to bring the sinner to the saving knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and as we do, we share in heaven’s joy and blessings.

Make a list of all those you can reach with the gospel this week and do everything in your power to bring them to the Lord. You will be rewarded abundantly.

Tell The Story

In one of his sermons, E. V. Hill tells of a time when he preached in Michigan with Dr. Jack Hyles, the former pastor of First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana. Hyles’ church averaged 20,000 in Sunday school back then. “[E. V.] asked, “Jack, let me in on why you’re so caught up in soul winning. You’re on the verge of fanatic. What’s behind all that?”

He said, “One night, I was awakened by this piercing scream from my sister. I ran upstairs to her bedroom, and there she was sweating and in hysterics. I shook her, and I couldn’t get her attention, so I had to slap her. I said, ‘What’s wrong? You had a dream?’ She said, ‘No, no dream.’ I said, ‘You had a nightmare?’ She said, ‘No it was real.’ I said, ‘What happened?’ She said, ‘Jack, I just got back from hell. After a few miles of the glitter and lights and all of that which deceives mankind, there was nothing but desolation. It was a bummed-out situation. It’s nothing but desolation and hopelessness. You walk towards the gates of hell knowing that you will never again be free. I got to the gates of hell and the keeper said, “Hold it.” I stood outside hell, and I saw people whose faces were twisted and tongues were thick, eyes bulging and hands split, dropping blood. I said, “Sir, please let some air in.” And he said, “No air in hell.” Then I said, “Kind sir, let them have a drink of water.” And he said, “No water in hell.” Then I said, “If that’s true, let ’em die.” And he said, “No death in hell.” She said, “My God, how long will they suffer?” And he said, “Forever and ever! Hell has no exit and there is no death.”

“She said, ‘Just as I turned to leave, he said, “Go back and tell the story.” And just as I turned I saw Daddy.'” And I said, “Yep, our Daddy is in hell, because he never got around to doing the most important thing. He schooled us, he fed us, but he never got around to saying yes to Jesus Christ.” Jack concluded by saying, “I win souls every day so that nobody else’s daddy has to go to hell.” Citation: E. V. Hill, A Saviour Worth Having (Chicago: Moody Press, 2002), 91-2.