Multiplication Illustrations

Linen seed

As a supplement to my article on Multiplication, I would like to present the following illustrations to help you see the power of multiplication with regard to making disciples and church growth.

Illustration 1 – Each One Reaches One, Each Church Plants One
In the table below, we begin with twelve disciples on the left side in 2016. And if each one reaches one person per year, then the number of disciples doubles each year, so that at the end of fifteen years there are 196,608 disciples.

Likewise on the right-hand column (which has no direct correlation to the middle column), we see what would happen if each church planted one church each year. The number of churches would double each year, resulting in 16,384 churches at the end of fifteen years.

		Multiplication Factor of Two
	Year	Number of disciples	Multiplication factor	Number of churches
1	2016	12	2	1
2	2017	24	2	2
3	2018	48	2	4
4	2019	96	2	8
5	2020	192	2	16
6	2021	384	2	32
7	2022	768	2	64
8	2021	1,536	2	128
9	2022	3,072	2	256
10	2023	6,144	2	512
11	2024	12,288	2	1,024
12	2025	24,576	2	2,048
13	2026	49,152	2	4,096
14	2027	98,304	2	8,192
15	2028	196,608	2	16,384
		Multiplication Factor of Three
	Year	Number of disciples	Multiplication factor	Number of churches
1	2016	12		1
2	2017	36		3
3	2018	108		9
4	2019	324		27
5	2020	972		81
6	2021	2,916		243
7	2022	8,748		729
8	2021	26,244		2,187
9	2022	78,732		6,561
10	2023	236,196		19,683
11	2024	708,588		59,049
12	2025	2,125,764		177,147
13	2026	6,377,292		531,441
14	2027	19,131,876		1,594,323
15	2028	57,395,628		4,782,969

In the second table above, we begin with twelve disciples on the left side in 2016. And if each one reaches two persons per year, then the number of disciples triples each year, so that at the end of fifteen years there are 57,395,628.

Likewise on the right-hand column, we see what would happen if each church planted two churches each year, then the number of churches would triple each year, resulting in 4,782,969 churches at the end of fifteen years.

Illustration 2 – A Penny Doubled

Would you rather have $1 Million now or take a penny and double it every day for 30 days? Once you have answered that question, take a look at the table below.

Day Number	Amount at Beginning of Day	Amount at End of Day
1	$0.01	$0.02
2	$0.02	$0.04
3	$0.04	$0.08
4	$0.08	$0.16
5	$0.16	$0.32
6	$0.32	$0.64
7	$0.64	$1.28
8	$1.28	$2.56
9	$2.56	$5.12
10	$5.12	$10.24
11	$10.24	$20.48
12	$20.48	$40.96
13	$40.96	$81.92
14	$81.92	$163.84
15	$163.84	$327.68
16	$327.68	$655.36
17	$655.36	$1,310.72
18	$1,310.72	$2,621.44
19	$2,621.44	$5,242.88
20	$5,242.88	$10,485.76
21	$10,485.76	$20,971.52
22	$20,971.52	$41,943.04
23	$41,943.04	$83,886.08
24	$83,886.08	$167,772.16
25	$167,772.16	$335,544.32
26	$335,544.32	$671,088.64
27	$671,088.64	$1,342,177.28
28	$1,342,177.28	$2,684,354.56
29	$2,684,354.56	$5,368,709.12
30	$5,368,709.12	$10,737,418.24

As you can see in the illustration above if your penny doubles each day, you begin with one penny on day one, but by the end of 30 days, you have $10,737,418.24. That's almost eleven million dollars! So you end up with much more money by doubling a penny each day than if you settle for the one million dollars on day one.

You see, if you take the one million dollars on day one, you are simply adding that amount one time. But if you multiply instead of adding, and you are willing to wait for 30 days, then you end up doing much better in the end.

Think of how this applies to making disciples. Would you rather just add 100 disciples on day one, or would you rather start with one or two disciples and multiply them each year?

Illustration 3 - Minimum Fruitfulness Level
Jesus taught that the minimum fruitfulness level for those who accept the Word is 30-fold increase, or 3000%.

He said: "The sower sows the word. These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word, which has been sown in them. In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." (Mar 4:14-20)

While the Lord taught that some will have a hundredfold increase, we know that not everyone is going to achieve that level. But what would it be like if every disciple had at least a 30-fold increase every year? The entire world would be reached with the gospel in 7 years, as the table below illustrates.

30-fold Increase or 3,000%

	Year	Number of disciples	Multiplication Factor
1	2016	12	3000%
2	2017	360	3000%
3	2018	10,800	3000%
4	2019	324,000	3000%
5	2020	9,720,000	3000%
6	2021	291,600,000	3000%
7	2022	8,748,000,000	3000%

The chart above illustrates that you could begin with twelve disciples and have 8.7 billion disciples at the end of seven years.

Illustration 4 - One Out of Four Disciples Fruitful
But as we see in the passage above, the Lord taught that not all the seeds would even bear any fruit at all. There were the ones sown beside the road, the ones sown on rocky places, and the ones sown among thorns that all failed to bear any fruit for the Lord. Only the ones sown on good soil became fruitful. He said that only "the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil...hear the word and accept it and bear fruit..." (Mar 4:20)

Therefore, some believe Jesus taught in this passage that only one out of every four seeds sown would bear fruit, while the other three would not last.  I believe there is a lot of truth to that, and my experience has proven that very few of those in whom the seed of the Word is sown actually bear any fruit. In my estimation, it seems like a small percentage ever bear fruit, and it's easy for me to believe that it could be 25% or less. So let’s apply that assumption to our previous illustration above. This time we will only allow one out of every four disciples to bear any fruit, and they will only bear 30-fold increase, not the maximum 100-fold increase that is actually possible.

In the following table, the middle column represents the number of disciples at the beginning of each year, but due to attrition as the Lord described, we retain only one-fourth of those disciples at the end of each year. We will call them the remnant. However, since the remnant are multiplying at a rate of 3,000 percent or thirty-fold, there will still be an increase by the beginning of the following year. Observe the growth that would still occur:

30-fold Increase or 3,000%

	Year	Number of disciples at Beginning of Year	Fruitful Disciples by End of Year (1 out of 4)
1	2016	12	3
2	2017	90	23
3	2018	675	169
4	2019	5,063	1,266
5	2020	151,875	37,969
6	2021	1,139,063	284,766
7	2022	8,542,969	2,135,742
8	2023	64,072,266	16,018,066
9	2024	480,541,992	120,135,498
10	2025	3,604,064,941	901,016,235
11	2026	27,030,487,061	6,757,621,765
12	2027	202,728,652,954	50,682,163,239

By the end of eleven years (2026) there would be 6.7 billion disciples, as the chart above illustrates. Since the earth's entire population is about 7 billion people, then if this sort of multiplication occurred, there could potentially be as many disciples as there are people on the planet before the end of the twelfth year (2027).

Putting it All Together
I hope that these simple illustrations have helped you understand that the Lord wants us to multiply and not add. I hope I've given you a vision and a passion for multiplication. Every disciple must be making disciples, thus multiplying themselves. As each one is being fruitful and multiplying, all the people in the world will ultimately be reached in a relatively short period of time. They would all have an opportunity to hear the gospel and either become one of the three seeds that bear no fruit at all, or become one of the seeds sown on good soil that bears fruit thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold.

This is why our ministry, Doulos Missions International, places such a great emphasis on each believer becoming a disciple and then multiplying disciples. Our goal is not to fill buildings with believers, but to make disciples. After all, this is what Jesus commanded us, saying to go and make disciples of all the nations.

Attribution Notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: If you would like to be equipped to become a multiplying disciple for God's glory, please consider enrolling in our international Doulos Training School. You are invited to read Multiplication, Divine Strategies for Multiplication, The Kingdom of God is Like This, Being a Witness for Christ, The Sin of Silence, Give Me Children or I'll Die!, Baptized with the Spirit, and Covenant Prayer. You may find more articles about being fruitful and multiplying on the Home Page of this blog. You may also find my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

What is That in Your Hand?

When God created man, He put within him a seed to reproduce after his own kind, just as He did with the animals and the vegetation.

"Then God said, 'Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them'; and it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good." (Gen 1:11-12).

In this manner, apple trees produce apples and reproduce apple trees, orange trees produce oranges and reproduce orange trees, cats reproduce cats and birds reproduce birds. Apple trees will never produce oranges and dogs will never produce humans, nor will humans produce cows. The seed God has placed within enables us to produce after our kind.

When God blessed Adam and Eve and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it (Gen 1:28), He put within them the seed to fulfill that command. Likewise, when God created each one of us, He created us for a purpose. He put within each one of us certain talents and abilities. When we come to know Christ and He baptizes us with His Spirit, we also receive gifts of the Spirit. So we all have these talents, abilities, and gifts from God -- some more and others less. We must commit these to God, consecrating them for His service, so that He would be glorified by our lives. Then He will take those and use them for His glory in ways that go beyond anything we ever imagined.

Let's look at some examples from Scripture of how the Lord does this.

Moses Delivering Israel from Egypt
In our first example, we have Moses, whose parents noticed when he was a baby that he was no ordinary child. God had given talents and abilities from birth. Then he was raised in Pharaoh's household. He was "educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds" (Ac 7:22). But look at how he saw himself when God called him at age eighty to deliver His people from Egypt.

Then Moses said to the LORD, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."  (Exo 4:10). That's typical for someone to view themselves as not having what it takes when in fact God has given them all they need.

When God spoke to Moses in the burning bush, Moses replied, "What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say? For they may say, 'The LORD has not appeared to you.'" (Exo 4:1). Listen closely to what God said to him. "The LORD said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' And he said, 'A staff.'"  (Exo 4:2).

Moses did not have to go and find something he didn't have. God used what he already had in his hand, which was a common staff. God told him to throw it down on the ground, and when he did God turned it into a serpent.

Then He said, "Throw it on the ground." So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. But the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail"--so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand-- "that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you."  (Exo 4:3-5)

And thus with this staff Moses confronted Pharaoh, performed signs and wonders, parted the Red Sea, and delivered the people of Israel out of slavery. God used what He had put within Moses at birth, and He used the very staff that was already in Moses' hand.

Likewise, God will use the talents and abilities He has put within you, so that you can fulfill the purpose  for which He created you. He will use what you already have in your hand.

Saving Faith
It's the same with saving faith. Listen to the apostle Paul.

But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: "DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, 'WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?' (that is, to bring Christ down), or 'WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)." But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"--that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." (Rom 10:6-10)

See how it works? God has given each person a measure of faith inside their heart. When they hear the gospel, they already have a measure of faith. They simply need to get it to come from their heart, to their mouth, and out. With your heart you believe, but it is with your mouth you confess and are saved.

Confessing publicly before men that Jesus is Lord is essential to our salvation. I know a brother who spoke to his daughter the night before she got married. She had received Christ into her heart earlier in life, but he asked her if she had ever publicly confessed to anyone that Jesus was her Lord and Savior. She had not, so he encouraged her to do so. And when she did, her walk with the Lord changed in a wonderful way. She met up with other believers and began to grow. That marked the turning point where God changed her life.

We don't have to go looking elsewhere for a priest to confess our sins to, or a holy river to bathe in as the Hindus do, or a holy city to travel to on pilgrimage as the Muslims do to Mecca or the Catholics do to Rome. The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.

In fact, that's the way God created the universe. "By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible." (Heb 11:3). God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. Whatever He wanted to create, He spoke it into existence, because He is God. Since He is God, He had within Him the Word necessary to create everything. And when He created you, He put within you what is necessary to accomplish the purpose He gave you in life.

David Defeating the Giant

Another great example is when David defeated Goliath the giant. Here were all these great warriors of Israel, older, stronger, more experienced in battle than David. But they were afraid of the giant and allowed him to curse the living God.

However, David did not put up with that. With the king's permission, he fought the giant. It was not with the king's armor that he did so. He could not wear the armor of someone else. Just as he had killed the lion and the bear who attacked his sheep without any armor, so he fought the giant without armor.

But David said to Saul, "Your servant was tending his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. "Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God." And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you." (1Sa 17:34-37)

It was his faith in God that made the difference. God was his strength and his shield. By faith, he took his stick in his hand, his sling, and chose five smooth stones.

"He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine." (1Sa 17:40)

You see how he did it? David slew the giant with a sling and five smooth stones. The giant mocked him for coming at him with sticks and stones, but by faith, David defeated him. God used what was in his hand.

Jesus Multiplying the Fish and Loaves
The final example I would like to give is our Lord Jesus multiplying the fish and the loaves.

"Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, 'Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?' This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. Philip answered Him, 'Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.'" (Joh 6:5-7)

Do you see the question the Lord asked to test them? "Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?" This was to test them, because the Lord already knew what He was going to do to feed them. When you survey the situation you find yourself in, you may be wondering, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?" Your task may not be feeding a multitude of five thousand people as on that day, but it may be feeding your own family. Or it may be feeding those who come to your gospel rescue mission that you operate. Or it may be some other task that is unrelated to feeding people, but you may be wondering where you can go to find the resources you need to accomplish the task.

In Mark's gospel, he records Jesus asking the question of His disciples, "How many loaves do you have? Go look!" (Mar 6:38a). This is the same way the Lord taught Moses when He said, "What's that in your hand?" He was teaching His disciples that they could do all things through Him with what they already had on hand.

Here is how they replied to His question: "One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, 'There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?'" (Joh 6:8-9). Mark's gospel says, "And when they found out, they said, 'Five, and two fish.'" (Mar 6:38b).

All Jesus needed was what they had on hand. As soon as they told Him, he commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass.

"And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish." (Mar 6:41-43)

The apostle John recorded it like this in his gospel: "Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted." (Joh 6:11)
 
Once they had sat down, He gave thanks, blessed the food, and broke the loaves. Then He kept giving it to the disciples to set before them, and He did the same with the two fish. So once again we have the same lesson as with Moses and David. God's supernatural power enabled the disciples to feed thousands with the food that one single boy had on hand.

Ex-Convict Finds Her Purpose
A friend of mine, named Jerry, works in a faith-based organization that helps people who have been in prison to get back into society and lead productive lives, rather than ending up back in prison. Normally the rate of recidivism in the USA is now about 77% (i.e., three out of four ex-offenders go back to jail in less than three years). But his group's rate of success is between 77%, and sometimes as high as 85%, meaning these participants get a job and stay out of prison. 

He told me the story of one woman, who had been incarcerated for a while and told him that she had never held any job at all and didn't "know how to do anything but sell drugs." Her mother had been a prostitute and she did not know her father. As Jerry was counseling her on what she could do in life now that she was out of prison, he asked her what was the last thing she remembered doing that was really enjoyable to her.

She said, "Well, drug dealing wasn't fun. That was scary." As she thought further, she said something like, "I remember one time helping my father take care of some animals, and I really enjoyed it." She helped brush their fur. So Jerry asked her what kind of animals, and she said, "All kinds -- cats, dogs, bunnies..." He asked if she minded picking up their feces or anything like that, and she said it didn't bother her at all. So he said, "That's it! That's what your supposed to do." Now she has a job working with animals, caring for them.

Putting it All Together
As we have seen from Scripture in these examples, the Lord will use whatever you have on hand. Once you have committed it to Him with thanks and prayer, He will by His supernatural power enable you to do whatever is necessary, in order to bring glory to His name.

It's easy for any of us to think we don't have anything to contribute, and to see others as more talented than we are. You might look at a concert pianist and wish you could play like they do. But they started with a raw talent and then honed it. The same goes for an artist who paints beautiful pictures, like Danny Hahlbohm. He told me it took him years to hone that talent. People don't come out of the womb painting with such skill. It has to be developed. But when we commit it to God, the Holy Spirit can do anything He wants to with it.

Let me ask you today, "What is that in your hand?" What are your talents and abilities? What are the skills you possess? What resources do you already have in your possession -- monetary and non-monetary? Once you take inventory of them and you know what you have on hand, then commit it to God with thanksgiving and ask Him to use it for His glory. Take what you have and put it to use. Then watch and see the great and marvelous things that God will do with your life.

Now I'd like to ask you an even more important question below....

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. 
 
Author's note: If you would like to be equipped to use what's in your hand for God's glory, please consider enrolling in our international Doulos Training School. You are invited to read The Kingdom of God is Like This, Multiplication, The Link Between Two Realms, Be a Star for Jesus, God's Supernatural Hand in Crisis, Being a Witness for Christ, The Sin of Silence, Baptized with the Spirit, Gems from Heaven, Give Me Children or I'll Die!, and Covenant Prayer. You may find more articles about being fruitful and multiplying on the Home Page of this blog. You may also find my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Rescue Souls!

"Who Cares?" by Mauricio Palaucio

These are the last days. Time is up! Jesus is coming back right away -- sooner than you expect. The end has come. Tens of thousands of people are dying in sin, and going to hell every day.  In fact an estimated 163,964 people die in the world each day. That's 6,831 deaths per hour, which is 114 people leaving the earth per minute, or about 2 souls per second. By the time you finish reading this article, approximately 570 more people will have gone into eternity forever.

If we could see in the spirit realm, and watch these people falling down to hell, what would it look like?  How would we feel? What would we do? We would see the multitudes being led away to death, staggering toward slaughter. We would see them pouring into hell like the sands of the sea.  One moment they would be walking along unsuspecting of what was about to happen to them, and the next moment they would be going over the cliff into the abyss to eternal damnation, where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.

If you could stand within a yard (about a meter) from that cliff, watching those human beings, made in God’s image, heading for destruction, would you be passive? Would you say something to warn them? If so, how would you speak? Would you speak softly and gently to them, so as not to upset them or make them hate you? What kind of tone of voice would you use?

In my opinion, if I were standing near the edge of that cliff high above the abyss, watching those souls perishing, I would be screaming to them to warn them. “Hey! Stop! Don’t go any further! There’s a cliff right there! Turn back!” If we were all honest about it, we would probably all do something similar.  Perhaps you personally might begin by trying to speak gently to them, but once you saw that nobody paid any attention to you, then you would eventually start screaming.  You would probably be waving your arms, too. You would be doing anything you could to get their attention, so that they would stop going in the direction of the cliff, just a few steps away.

Since the Lord sees everything, we know that every day He witnesses these souls perishing, and He weeps for them. He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Once they die and go down to hell, they are lost forever, but they remain eternally conscious of their torment. Hell was not created for man, but for the devil and his fallen angels (demons).  It’s a horrible place of darkness, totally separated from God, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Everybody in hell is ready to repent, but there is no repentance in hell. Everybody remains in the state they were in when they died. So if they did not repent on earth, they cannot repent in hell. Mercy is only available on earth, yet all those souls in hell are crying out for mercy.

That’s why we must rescue souls. We must rescue those being led away to death, and hold back those staggering toward slaughter. May the Lord give us compassion for the lost that are perishing every day. The devil has taken them captive to do his will. They are on a course for destruction, unless someone rescues them. I am reminded of the song of angels that was caught on tape in a Chinese prayer meeting in 1995.  In a place called Shandong, some believers were gathered together praying in the Spirit with a tape recorder recording them. When they played the tape back later, they heard angels singing in the Mandarin language.  The angels sang about the signs of the times that are happening, and the chorus for each stanza was this:

The end is near. The revelation of love has been manifested.
Rise up, rise up, rescue souls.
The end is near.
Rise up, rise up, rescue souls.

May that be our heart in these last days: Rise up, rise up, rescue souls!

Scriptures
“Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?” (Pro 24:11-12, NIV)

“Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.” (Psa 82:3-4)

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise wins souls.” (Pro 11:30)

"Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” (Dan 12:3)

And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  (Mat 4:19)

“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more.” (1Co 9:19)

"For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.” (Mat 18:11)

"Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.” (Joh 4:35)

"In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; Incline Your ear to me and save me." (Psa 71:2)

“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” (Col 1:13)

“He has rescued us from a terrible death, and He will rescue us in the future. We are confident that He will continue to rescue us.” (2Co 1:10, GW)

“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.’” (Mar 16:15-16)

"And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed." (Mar 16:20)

If you would like to read the whole story of the Shandong Miracle and listen to the recording of the angels, singing that song in Mandarin, please see the article, “Angels Singing in a Chinese Church.”

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.  Other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, where noted. The "Who Cares?" painting by Mauricio Palaucio is an illustration of General William Booth's vision depicting the Church's apparent lack of concern over the fate of lost souls. (William Booth was the founder of the Salvation Army). This oil painting was commissioned in 1993 by Last Days Ministries (founded by Keith Green). Read William Booth's "Who Cares?" article. Order a 25" X 17" poster of this painting through LDM's website.
 
Author's note: If you would like to be equipped to rescue souls, please consider enrolling in our international Doulos Training School. You are invited to read The Sin of Silence, Baptized with the Spirit, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, Rapture Revelation to Angelica Zambrano, Give Me Children or I'll Die!, Confrontational Evangelism, Michael Shigaba's End Time Message for Mankind, Rapture Revelation to James Agboola, Rapture Revelation to Ayodelle Sawyerr, The End Has Come, Covenant Prayer, How to Reach a Muslim for Christ, and Being a Witness for Christ. You may find more articles about being fruitful and multiplying on the Home Page of this blog. You may also find my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Sin of Silence

The sin of silence is when you fail to share the gospel with your neighbor. It has been said that the primary reason people fail to evangelize is fear.  Peter denied the Lord three times. Are we denying Him by our silence?

Jesus said, "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven." (Mat 10:32-33). 

The Man Who Is Content To Save Only Himself Is Not Even Saving Himself
The man who is content to save only himself is not even saving himself. Such a man may think, "Evangelism is for others, but not for me." Or "I'll leave that to the evangelists. That's not my gift." Others simply invite their friends to church, and assume they have done their duty. They figure that if the person comes to church, the pastor will preach the gospel to them. But the Lord commanded us, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit..." (Mat 28:19). He did not say, "Go therefore and invite people to church."

I'm not saying that someone cannot get saved by attending church.  But if we think the responsibility to evangelize the lost belongs solely to the professional ministers, we have missed the will of God. Every disciple must be making disciples. I believe it has been said that most people get saved by hearing the gospel from another individual they know, such as a friend or family member.  The majority of people don't get saved by hearing a sermon from a preacher at a meeting. So if we rely primarily on the preachers at meetings to preach the gospel, then most of the people who would have otherwise gotten saved will perish in their sin.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me." (Mat 16:24).  It requires self denial and cross-bearing to share the gospel. If you follow Jesus, you will be imitating Him by sharing the gospel and being a witness to your neighbor.

Jesus also taught about the second greatest commandment of God. He said, "The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mar 12:31). If we love our neighbor, how can we stand by while he goes to hell?

The apostle Paul wrote to Philemon, "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ." (Philemon 6, NIV 1984).  It is also my prayer that every one of you who read this article would be active in sharing your faith, too.

It Is the Duty of Every Christian To Evangelize To The Lost
Every Christian has a duty to evangelize the lost. We must warn them and let them decide where they want to go. You should not think to yourself that they would never repent, even if you shared the gospel with them. It's not your responsibility to make that call.

Do not be afraid of warning anyone because you are afraid that they will reject you. Even if they  hate you, even if your family members hate you, you must warn them. Do not be a man-pleaser or fear losing someone's love.

Hell is a terrible place, and if you really love someone you would rather that they be hurt now by your warning and escape from hell. Tell them the truth. As we warn them, those who believe will come to the Lord and those who don’t believe, your witness to them will be for their own judgment, a moment they will regret in hell forever.

Putting it All Together
God can use your testimony for Jesus and your witness for Him, but He cannot use your silence. The sin of silence will keep you from heaven. It is the duty of every Christian to evangelize the lost, so don't fail to evangelize!

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.  Other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, where noted.
 
Author's note: You are invited to read Rescue Souls!, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, Give Me Children or I'll Die!, Confrontational Evangelism, and Being a Witness for Christ. You may find more articles about being fruitful and multiplying on the Home Page of this blog. You may also find my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Life Transformation Groups

As I have already explained in my article, The Difference Between a Disciple and a Believer, becoming a disciple of Christ is not simply a matter of claiming to be a believer. Nor is it simply saying you're a Christian or going to Church each week. Neither is it primarily an academic process.  Academics is more intellectual. It's all about getting head knowledge. Head knowledge can be dangerous.  Paul said, "Knowledge puffs up while love builds up." (1 Cor 8:1, NIV).  Becoming a disciple is a matter of the heart that requires loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving your neighbor as yourself -- the two greatest commandments. It doesn't happen in a vacuum while remaining entirely secluded all by yourself all the time, although solitude is also very beneficial. Jesus spent time in solitude and so did His apostles, so we need to make private time alone with God a regular part of our lives. However, in addition to that, we need contact with others.

The Lord said that where two or three are gathered in His name, He is there in our midst. "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." (Mt 18:20, NIV).  That's why I advise disciples to meet in groups of two or three on a regular basis. The men meet with men and the women with women. There are no mixed-gender groups. They meet face-to-face, in-person once per week together for about an hour for the purpose of discipleship.  This approach has been called a Life Transformation Group (LTG).

This follows the same approach that Jesus used in making disciples. He met with the multitudes and preached to them. He fed the masses, healed them, and delivered those who were bound by satan. But He did not necessarily make disciples of the masses. His work of making disciples was done primarily with the Twelve, and it happened over a period of three and a half years. It did not happen in a classroom, using textbooks and charts. It happened as they walked with the Lord daily, talked with Him, prayed with Him, watched Him operate, and listened to Him teach. At the end of three and a half years, He only had eleven of the original Twelve disciples remaining, but they turned the world upside down with the gospel after His resurrection from the dead and ascension to heaven, once He poured out His Spirit upon them.

There were other disciples besides the Twelve. He had wider circles through which He made disciples, such as the seventy-two.  They may have been part of the one hundred and twenty who gathered in the upper room to obediently wait for the Baptism with the Holy Spirit after His ascension. But He spent most of His time with the Twelve during His earthly ministry, especially with Peter, James, and John, and that is an example for us how to make disciples. It's not going to happen by listening to a pastor preach messages once per week on Sundays, although that may help. It's going to happen on a constant basis, as you daily walk with the Lord.

Criteria for LTG Membership
It's easy to start an LTG. All you have to do is find another person of your gender who 1) has a hunger for more of God in his or her life, and 2) who is willing to submit to the LTG process. Those are the only two requirements to be in an LTG. And to start an LTG, you don't need to have any Bible training or even be a leader. That's because you are not going to lead the group, and you are not going to teach the Bible. So what are you going to do then?

There are two basic things you do in an LTG -- breathing and reproducing -- which are essential to sustaining life of all living, breathing creatures on earth. I am using those natural functions figuratively to illustrate the spiritual process.

Breathing
The two-fold process of breathing involves inhaling and exhaling. Let me explain how these apply to the LTG.

Inhaling
When we inhale, we take in fresh, oxygen-rich air, which we need to live. We could say the same thing happens in the spirit. A disciple must inhale spiritually. We want to inhale the fresh, breath that God has exhaled. And the Scripture says that "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Tim 3:16-17, NIV).

So in an LTG, we inhale or read lots of Scripture. The members of the LTG agree on a Bible passage to read each week that totals between twenty-five and thirty chapters. So for example, you could read the gospel of Matthew one week, which is twenty-eight chapters. Another week, you could read several of Paul's epistles, totaling twenty-five to thirty chapters. Or you could read one of Paul's epistles like Galatians, five times for a total of thirty chapters. But everyone in the LTG must read the same passage each week. Each LTG partner does the reading on their own throughout the week and must be finished before the weekly meeting. No Bible reading or Bible study is done in the LTG meeting itself.

Exhaling
When we exhale, we breath out air that our bodies have used, which contains waste material in the form of carbon dioxide gas. It's been expended, and we can no longer make use of it. Our bodies must exhale or else we would die. It's not enough to simply inhale and hold our breath. So in the spirit, exhaling is equally essential. We need to rid ourselves of those things that would be harmful if we hold onto them. That means we confess our sins to one another. James wrote: "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (Jam 5:16, NIV).

So in an LTG, you confess your sins to each other. That's one reason why it is gender specific, because we don't want the men confessing their sins to women, and vice versa, since that is not appropriate.  And the members of the LTG must agree to keep strictly confidential what they say to each other. It is not to be repeated outside the group.

Reproducing
Everything God made on earth with seed within itself reproduces after its own kind. Seed-bearing plants do this, and so do animals, as well as humans. If humans stopped reproducing, they would become extinct. There are some nationalities that are going in that direction, because their death rate exceeds the birth rate. So this is essential.

When we reproduce spiritually, as disciples, we are making other disciples of people. This is in obedience to the Lord's command. He said, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Mt 28:19-20, NIV).

Our reproduction as disciples begins by praying for the lost people we know in our circles of influence (family, work, neighbors, etc). So each member of the LTG shares the names of two or three people he or she knows that are not saved. And all the members of the LTG agree to pray throughout the week for those people by name.

The members of the LTG should also actively be a testimony for the glory of Jesus Christ each week by their words and actions. This will include share your faith in Christ with others each week. The best way to do this is to do so as you go through each day.  But it would be even better if you could also set aside a certain amount of time each week especially for personal evangelism.

Once there are three members in an LTG, if a fourth person wishes to join, that would indicate it is time for the group to multiply by becoming two separate groups of two members each. An LTG may not have more than two or three members.

Accountability Questions
When the group meets each week, they open in prayer, and then they each take turns asking five questions of each other. So one person can be the first to answer all the questions, and then the next person can do so, and then the third, if there is a third person.

1. How have you been a testimony this week for the glory of God with your words and actions?

You answer this by telling what you did to testify for Jesus to others in your circle of influence throughout the past week.

2. How have you responded to the prompting of the Holy Spirit?

You answer this by telling how you have followed the leading of the Holy Spirit in things both great and small throughout the past week.

3. How have you experienced God in your life this week?

You answer this by specifically sharing any instance by which you experienced God in your life personally, such as in prayer, worship, an answer to prayer, God speaking to you through the Bible, etc.

4. Do you have any sin that you need to confess?

You may either answer yes or no. If you answer yes, then you should confidentially confess your sin to the other member(s) of the LTG.  It is assumed you have already repented to God, confessed to Him, and received His forgiveness. This is not time to condemn or criticize each other, but to commit to pray for one another in the area confessed, so that healing may occur.

5. How did you do with your Bible reading this week?

You answer by telling whether you finished the agreed upon passage of Scripture. If any member of the LTG has not finished the reading prior to the weekly meeting during their own time, then everyone in the LTG must once again read the same passage the following week, including those who personally finished the reading during the past week. This is not to make anyone feel condemned, but to get the LTG members reading lots of Scripture each week.

Irreducible Core of the Church
As I have already alluded to, the two greatest commandments are loving God with all your being and loving your neighbor as yourself. These Greatest Commandments, along with the Great Commission to go and make disciples, form the irreducible core of the Church. In other words, these are the three core aspects that must be present in every true, living church. You can strip away many other superficial things from the church, such as public buildings and paid staff, and still have these essential core elements. But without the irreducible core, the church is no longer viable, even if it is fully recognized by the public as a valid church. The irreducible core is a way of life that follows in the footsteps of Jesus. Wherever two or three disciples are gathered in Jesus' name, fulfilling the irreducible core, an embryonic form of the Church is present.

The Life Transformation Group is not intended to replace involvement in a local expression of the Body of Christ, where one exists. However, it does embody the irreducible core, so it is a biblical, Christ-honoring way of life. It can supplement the services of a local church (e.g. Sunday school, home group meetings, etc.), or it can be used as a key component of any church planting approach.

Effectiveness
I first began using this approach to making disciples in 2006, and over the past decade I have found it to be very effective. It is a repeatable process that can be implemented anywhere in the world in fulfillment of the Greatest Commandments and the Great Commission. The Lord has commanded us to make disciples, and this approach facilitates multiplication of disciples the way Jesus did. May the Lord help you as you adopt this way of life for His glory, so that you may achieve maximum fruitfulness wherever you may be in His vineyard.

DTS Students only: Download LTG Card here.

Continue reading How to Start an LTG.

Attribution: Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted. I want to thank Tom Johnston and Mike Chong Perkinson of the Praxis Center for Church Development, for teaching me about Life Transformation Groups by Neil Cole © 2000. For more information about Life Transformations Groups and other strategic resources visit Church Multiplication Associates (CMA). By the way, CMA has LTG cards containing the explanation of an LTG and the five questions, which you can order from them online. I recommend getting the blue cards with the five questions, rather than the red ones. Photo of butterfly courtesy of Fir0002/Flagstaffotos.

Author's Note: If you would like to become a disciple who makes disciples, please prayerfully consider enrolling in Doulos Training School, our international, distance education ministry. If you are already a DTS student, please download the LTG Card here. I also recommend reading How to Start an LTG, The Difference Between a Disciple and a Believer, The Cost of Discipleship, and Multiplication. You are invited to visit the Home page of this blog, and also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." 

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

___________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org. Partner with us online by giving to DMI.

Confrontational Evangelism

Christ Cleansing the Temple

The Lord’s mandate of the Great Commission is urgent and we mustn’t delay.  The Bible should be the standard for our evangelistic approach, and not some other means. Our goal is not to get men to like us but to preach the good news of the kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ, call them to repentance, and ask them to turn to God. 

There are more examples in the Bible of Jesus and the apostles confronting people with Truth than of the friendly, indirect, long-range approach. In fact, we are hard-pressed to find any example where they did not confront people boldly and lovingly with the Truth, when they had the opportunity. Keeping silent about the gospel and delaying or neglecting direct evangelism is not taught in Scripture.  In fact, when the apostles were commanded not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus, they refused to remain silent, saying that they could not stop speaking about what they had seen and heard (Ac 4:20; 5:40-42).

It was only at Jesus’ trial before Herod that He refused to say anything at all. But He had already previously delivered a message to Herod that was very bold, regarding the Lord carrying out His mission fully without interference from Herod, who wanted to kill Him. (Lk 13:32).

There are those instances recorded in the gospels, in which people came to the Lord without much said to them beforehand on His part (e.g., the thief on the cross, Zachias, etc). But when He did address people with words, He confronted anything in their lives that was not of the Kingdom of God.

God is love and requires us to love our neighbor. Yet Jesus taught us that if a town or village does not welcome or receive us we are to shake the dust off our feet as we leave there, as a testimony against them (Mat. 10:14; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5). That is a loving response, since Jesus would never command us to do anything unloving.

We are first disciples of Christ and then business men, not the other way around. That means our obedience to Him, our love for Him, and our commitment to Him take priority over any business transaction or opportunity to make money. Even our businesses must have as a primary goal of reaching the lost with the Gospel. If you have a price at which you can be bought, the enemy will surely pay it.

We should treat a customer or prospective client with love and respect, but we cannot treat them differently than anyone else or show favoritism because they are clients, or because we hope they will become one.

I ask you: Is friendship evangelism an enemy of soul winning, and is it actually friendship with the world?  In many cases, it can be. The Scriptures say, “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (Jas 4:4).  Let us be careful that what we call evangelism is not hostility toward God.

For the Lord commanded the prophet Ezekiel to warn people boldly, so that they might turn from sin and be saved. He told Ezekiel that if he failed to warn them, then their blood would be on his hands (Ez 33:1-6).  This is very serious, so we must be careful not to conduct ourselves in such a way as to have men’s blood on our hands (Ac 20:36).

Every Plant the Father Has Not Planted Will Be Uprooted
The Lord Jesus always warned people boldly.  One such instance was when he said that the Pharisees worshiped God in vain, that they worshiped with their lips but their hearts were far from God, and they taught as doctrines the precepts of men.  He said that it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles the man but it is what comes out of the mouth that does so.

"Then the disciples came and said to Him, 'Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?'" (Mat 15:12)

Matthew Henry, the seventeenth-century, English holiness preacher and Bible commentator, commented regarding this passage:

“The disciples thought it strange that their Master should say that which He knew would give so much offense; He did not use to do so: surely, they think, if He had considered how provoking it would be, He would not have said it. But He knew what He said, and to whom He said it, and what would be the effect of it; and would teach us, that though in indifferent things we must be tender of giving offence, yet we must not, for fear of that, evade any truth or duty. Truth must be owned, and duty done; and if any be offended, it is his own fault; it is scandal, not given, but taken…if we please men with the concealment of truth, and the indulgence of their errors and corruptions, we are not the servants of Christ… The doom passed upon the Pharisees and their corrupt traditions; which comes in as a reason why Christ cared not though he offended them, and therefore why the disciples should not care; because they were a generation of men that hated to be reformed, and were marked out for destruction.”

But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." (Mat 15:13-14). The Greek for for "let them alone" is "aphiēmi," meaning "forsake, lay aside, leave, let alone, let be, let go, put away." The Lord instructed his disciples to leave the Pharisees alone, since they were blind guides.

Matthew Henry made the following comments about this response of Christ to His disciples:

“Christ bids his disciples let them alone. ‘Have no converse with them or concern for them; neither court their favour, nor dread their displeasure; care not though they be offended, they will take their course, and let them take the issue of it. They are wedded to their own fancies, and will have every thing their own way; let them alone. Seek not to please a generation of men that please not God (1Th_2:15), and will be pleased with nothing less than absolute dominion over your consciences. They are joined to idols, as Ephraim (Hos_4:17), the idols of their own fancy; let them alone, let them be filthy still,’ Rev_22:11. The case of those sinners is sad indeed, whom Christ orders his ministers to let alone…Christ rejects the wilfully ignorant who care not to be taught…If the Pharisees, who made void the law, be offended, let them be offended…”

I think these are keys for us to remember as we proclaim the truth to people. We must not evade any truth or duty for fear of giving offense to others. We must own the Truth and do our duty and if anyone is offended by it, that that is his own fault; if we please men by hiding the Truth and indulging their errors and corruptions, we are not the servants of Christ. Christ did not care that He offended the Pharisees, because of the doom passed upon them and their corrupt traditions; and therefore we as disciples should not care if we offend others by proclaiming the Truth. For we live in a generation of men that hate to be reformed, and are marked out for destruction.

Confrontational Language of the Gospel
There are many instances in Scripture where Jesus and His followers used confrontational language to address people’s sin. Here are a few such examples:

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Mat 4:17b; 3:2)

"Repent and believe in the gospel." (Mar 1:15b)

"...unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." (Luk 13:3b)

"You hypocrites.” (Mat. 15:7; 22:18; 23:13,14,15,23,25,27,29; 24:51; Mark 7:6; Luke 12:56; 13:15)

"You serpents, you brood of vipers…” (Mat. 12:34; 23:33; Luke 3:7;)

"You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” (Mat 23:24; cf. Mat. 23:16)

"You blind fools!" (Mt 23:17a)

"You blind men..." (Mt 23:19)

"You are like whitewashed tombs…” (Mat 23:27)

"You are like concealed tombs…” (Luk 11:44)

“Woe to you…” (Mat. 11:21; 23:13,14,15,16,23,25,27,29; Luke 6:24,25,26; 10:13; 11:42,43,44,46,47,52).

“But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.” (Joh 5:42)

"You are of your father the devil…”  (Joh 8:44a)

"...The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit." (Mt 21:43, NIV)

"How will you escape being condemned to hell?" (Mt 23:33b)

“You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?” (Act 13:10)

"You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it." (Act 7:51-53)

Here are some more examples of confrontational evangelism in Scripture:

Mt 4:17; 7:21-27; 8:19-22; 9:4-6; 10:7-8,14-20,22-27; 11:21-24; 15:3-13; 16:1-4; 17:15-17; 19:21-22; 21:12-16,23-45; 22:17-46; 23:13-39; Mk 7:6-13; 10:17-23; 11:15-18,28-33; 12:1-40; Lk 4:16-30; 5:21-26; 6:1-11; 7:39-47; 9:2,6,38-43,57-62; 10:10-16,25-37; 11:15-26,29-54; 12:1-12,49-59; 13:1-5,14-17,23-33; 14:1-35; 16:14-31; 18:18-25; 19:39-48; 20:1-19,21-47; Jn 2:18-21; Jn 3:1-21; 4:7-26; 5:16-47; 6:25-59; 7:4-8,15-38; 8:13-59; 9:35-41; 10:1-42; 12:34-36,42-50; 18:4-9,19-23,33-37; 19:10-11; Ac 2:14-41; 3:12-26; 4:1-20; 5:25-33; 7:2-60; 8:4-6; 13:6-12,15-50; 14:1-3; 22:1-22; 23:1-10; 24:10-21,24-26; 26:1-29; 28:23-29.

I encourage you to read through all the Scripture passages cited here, and see for yourself how the Lord and His disciples confronted people with the gospel lovingly. It often resulted in persecution.  It often resulted in people rejecting the gospel. It often resulted in people being insulted, offended (Mt 13:57; 15:12), enraged, cut to the heart, and humiliated (Lk 13:17; Act 7:54). It often resulted in people blaspheming, gnashing their teeth, covering their ears, arguing, and saying things that contradict God’s Word (Ac 6:9; 7:54,57; 13:45).  It also resulted in people becoming hardened and disobedient, even speaking evil of the Way publicly (Mt 26:65; Ac 19:19). But it also resulted in thousands of people, who were appointed to eternal life, putting their faith in Jesus Christ (Ac 2:41; 4:4; 13:48). And it resulted in the Word of the Lord reaching many people groups (Ac 2:9) and spreading throughout entire regions of the world (Ac 13:49; Rom 15:19,23).  That is what the Lord wants, so let us be obedient to Him.

Attribution notice: Scripture quotation taken from the NASB. Christ Cleansing the Temple, by Carl Heinrich Bloch, 1875

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, I recommend reading Rescue Souls!, Persecuted or Popular?, Give Me Children or I'll Die!, Here I Am, Send Me, Life is Short. Eternity is Not, Compassion for the Lost (poem), Avoid Becoming a Corrupted Christian, The Forgotten Sin of Worldliness, The Rise of Antichrists, and Ask for the Ancient Paths. You are invited to visit the Home page of this blog, and also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.