God Does Not Count Our Converts

He examines our faithfulness, and rewards our labors. The results are in His hands, not ours.

Tomorrow at 3:00 P.M. is your annual review. Sweat pops out on your forehead. Will you be able to sleep tonight? What's your boss going to say? Is he pleased or disappointed? There's reason for concern. This year hasn't been as productive as he expected. You think, I wish I were giving the evaluation, instead of the one being evaluated.

What does a boss look for in an employee? Results. Employees have to be worth their salaries. Otherwise, the people on the payroll cost more than they produce. Stated or unstated, the employer is saying, "I want to see results."

Many Christians think that God says the same thing about evangelism. The number of people whom we share Christ with doesn't matter because we think that God expects us to lead others to Him, not just tell about Him.

As a result, a couple of things can happen. Our approach becomes more high pressure. It doesn't matter whether non-Christians come to Christ of their own will or ours, just as long as they make the list. We can't afford the wasted time of sharing the gospel if we don't see a response. We think that God is keeping records. We need a yes from the lost, so we pressure and manipulate to get it. The problem is, that's not a Holy Spirit produced convert. It's a human spirit produced one, which is no convert at all.

Or the other thing that happens is we get discouraged. If we have few results, we think we haven't merited anything with God, so why keep trying? We're doomed to fail in evangelism, we think we're a disappointment to God.

What's the error in this thinking? Why is it a misconception?

Where do we get the idea that we're responsible for winning the lost? No such verse exists. Nor is there a hint that when we stand before God to be rewarded, He will ask, "How many have you led to Me?"

God holds us responsible for contact, not conversion.

What did Jesus commission His disciples to do? Acts 1:8 says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

A witness tells what he or she knows. The disciples were to tell what they knew, starting at Jerusalem, the local city—the very city where Christ was rejected and crucified. They were to go from there to the local area of Judea. With Samaria mentioned and Galilee implied, this meant the outer area of Palestine. They were then to go to "the ends of the earth," which to the apostles likely would have been Rome, the capital of the empire and the place where people congregated from every country.

The emphasis of the Great Commission is on the disciples' responsibility to bring Christ to non-Christians, not to bring non-Christians to Christ. Spreading the Good News was the issue here, not results. Beginning at home, they were to tell what they knew everywhere, starting at home!

Personal evangelism is impossible without personal contact. That's why Christ's own example stressed the need to be a friend of sinners (Luke 15:2). We can't speak to those whom we haven't contacted. We must go to them. We must be witnesses. What results from that contact is never the issue. Rather, the biblical emphasis is contact, not conversion.

God holds us responsible for faithfulness of sowing the seeds not whether they are fruitful or not!

Paul reminds us in his letter to the Corinthian church that he and Apollos were both used by the Lord in starting and growing the church:

After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. (1 Cor. 3:5-8)

Paul planted the church. Apollos ministered after Paul left. Both were used of the Lord. Our responsibility is to be faithful in whatever we're doing, and God rewards our labors. Fruitfulness is God's responsibility.

Why is it important to understand that faithfulness is the issue? At times we will sow the seeds of the gospel, and someone else may reap the seeds we've sown. During His visit to Samaria, Christ said, “You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.” (John 4:37-38). Although He was only in Samaria two days and did no miracles, Christ found a field ripe for harvest. Apparently, the ministry of the Old Testament prophets and John the Baptist had their results. Christ assured His disciples that both the sower and the reaper will have their reward.

There is a good example of this that I read about. A church office received a call from a woman. She explained that a person had dropped a tract off at her house with the church’s name and phone #. As a result of reading it, she accepted Christ and she wanted to know how to get more copies. She was thrilled with what she now understood and wanted others to know. They had no idea who left the tract so there is no way the person who “sowed the seed” even knew what their efforts accomplished. The sower may not even know what his or her efforts accomplished, but the Bible says that everyone who had a part in her coming to Christ will be rewarded.

The responsibility of bringing the lost to Christ is on God's shoulders. It is not on the shoulders of His servants. Jesus explains in John 6:44, "For people can't come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them from the dead." Christ repeats that emphasis when He says, "That is what I meant when I said that people can't come to me unless the Father brings them to me." (v.65). All we can do is bring them the message, we certainly can’t “save” them!

The pressure of bringing people to Christ is God's. We can only bring Christ to people. The only pressure we ought to feel is the pressure to make the gospel clear.

We can tell the Good News of Jesus Christ to people but only Christ through His Holy Spirit can bring about an understanding of the gospel. But God does use us to show the unsaved their condition, His remedy, and their need to trust Christ. As you evangelize, say to yourself, "I must be clear, be clear, be clear."

Remember, God holds us responsible for contact, not conversion. We have the privilege of introducing the lost to Christ, but the pressure for them to trust the Savior is upon Him, not us.
As we improve our skills we increase our effectiveness in reaching the lost. But even when multitudes respond, God brings them, not us. Any pressure we should feel is that of making the gospel clear to lost people with the intent of them trusting Christ. Whether or not they do is between them and God.

Overcoming Discouragement

A stale marriage. A chronic health condition. A prolonged period of unemployment. Discouragement sets in when you start to feel a sense of hopelessness about your future - when it seems like the troubling circumstances you're going through won't ever improve. But if you look beyond your circumstances to God, you'll discover the real hope and better future that He promises you.

Here's how you can overcome discouragement:

Pray. God already knows how discouraged you feel, but He wants you to talk to Him about your feelings and listen for how His Spirit guides you. Honestly vent your frustration to God and keep in mind that He cares about what you're going through. Ask God to open your eyes spiritually so you'll be able to see your circumstances from His perspective. Pray for deliverance from circumstances that aren't God's will, and perseverance to empower you to endure circumstances that are His will until you learn all you're supposed to learn from them.

Remember Who God is. Shift your focus from your discouraging circumstances to God Himself. Remember that He is love, and also that He is all-powerful. Trust that God will help you because that's consistent with His character.

Prepare yourself for the discouraging situations you're bound to encounter. Every day, Satan will try to discourage you in some way, but you can guard against such attacks by keeping up with some basic spiritual disciplines daily. Pray, read and reflect on the Bible, write in a journal, and check in with a prayer partner to give each other encouragement and accountability.

Stick to your assignment. Think and pray about the work you're currently doing for God. Ask Him to clarify whether or not He has truly led you to your current assignment. Reflect on the successes and failures you've experienced so far and see if you can recognize a pattern that can help you discern if you're doing what you're supposed to be doing. If it seems as if you're doing what God wants you to do but you just need to overcome some challenges while doing it, don't give up. Instead, fight discouragement by writing down a fresh vision for how to continue your work in the future.

Get guidance from a Christian counselor. If your discouragement has become so deep that you're struggling to overcome it, share your concerns with a Christian counselor who can give you biblical advice about how to move forward.

Refill your spiritual energy tank. Identify what's causing your spiritual energy levels to run low, write down the problem, form partnerships with a few people you trust who can join you in prayer about it, develop a clear strategy for solving the problem (such as scheduling a set time and place for daily devotions, or joining a weekly discipleship group), take action, and make yourself accountable to the people who are supporting you in prayer.

Take care of your physical health. Giving your body the care it needs will help you feel less discouraged. Eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep.
Spend time with someone who isn't discouraged. Time in that person's positive presence will naturally make you feel better yourself.

Give to people in need. Reaching out to help other people will prove encouraging for you because it will give you the joy of knowing that God has used you in significant ways.
Simplify your life. Base your schedule on your priorities. Don't waste time and energy on activities that don't reflect what's most important to you. Freeing yourself from unnecessary tasks will encourage you.

Share your faith with others. Whenever God gives you the opportunity to share your faith with non-Christians who seeking Him, do so. You'll remind yourself of how God has worked in your life and experience the joy of helping others discover Him.

Use the talents God has given you. Letting your talents lie dormant will only increase your sense of discouragement. Ask God to lead you to specific situations where you can put them to full use - for God's glory, and to help make the world a better place.

Resist Satan's efforts to discourage you more. Remember the Bible's promise that if you resist Satan, he will flee from you. Every day, pray for the spiritual strength you need to fight the evil attacks that you'll encounter in this fallen world. When Satan tempts you to doubt God, choose to trust Him. When Satan tries to deceive you and you feel confused, pray to discern the truth. When Satan promotes divisions between you and other Christians, make every effort to keep the unity of the Holy Spirit through the bond of peace. Keep in mind that God's power working in you is greater than any of Satan's schemes and, in Christ, you have the spiritual authority to defeat Satan's work and emerge victorious.

Choose faith over fear. Recognize that God is always with you - even in the middle of the most discouraging circumstances. Whenever you feel afraid, choose to trust God despite your fear. God may not change your circumstances when you'd like Him to, but He will always give you the encouragement you need to deal with them as long as necessary.

Never give up! Keep holding on to God's promise that He has an important plan for your life. Keep praying for the encouragement you need to fulfill all of His purposes for you.

Becoming More Christ-like Through "Failure

Have you ever had to deal with failure? That's a silly question, isn't it! Most of have! Yet, we might not think it is a silly question to ask, because sometimes we think that failure is not common to a lot of people. But if we are honest, we all have to deal with the feelings of disappointment, defeat, depression, and even the despair failure brings when it is not dealt with in a Biblical way.

You are not alone in your failure. Those whom you may look at and even envy or wish you could change places with have failed at one time or another. In fact, if the truth were known, they probably are dealing with the feeling of failure to one degree or another in one or more areas of their lives.

As you read this, you may feel alone. You may feel like the biggest failure. You may think there is no recovery, but God has good news for us! If you will take God at His Word (and it is printed out in black and white in the Bible), your failure will become a stepping stone to greater relationship with God. Failure will become a means to an end, rather than the end!

The reason this is true is because to fail is to be humbled. Failure makes us aware of our own impotence, our imperfections, and our shortcomings. Failure brings us low. And if we respond properly by humbling ourselves before our heavenly Father, then according to James 4:10, if we “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor”. And when God lifts us up, after we experience the humiliation and defeat of failing, then we know that it is Him and not us. Then the experience won’t be a source of pride in what we did, which would eventually lead to greater defeat and failure.

So in the light of this, let's look at failure. To fail means that . . . you didn't measure up, you didn't achieve your goal, you didn't hit the standard you or someone else had set, you didn't accomplish what you thought you should accomplish or wanted to achieve.

In a sense, this is where life begins-in a state of failure. The Bible says: “For I was born a sinner". (Psalm 51:5). To sin is to miss the mark, the standard set by God. It is to fall short-to fail to be what we are to be. All mankind is born into that state. Romans 3:23 says, ". . . everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard."

Consequently, we are all slated for failure unless we turn to God.

Christianity is God's means of bringing us out of failure! But it is a process-and that is what so many of us forget in our relationships and dealings with others and in our understanding of ourselves and of where we are in the process of being more Christ-like.

To be more Christ-like means the living of our lives in such a way as to know, believe, and embrace what God says so that our actions and thoughts are according to His principles. Then we experience success rather than defeat!

Remember, the world's definition of success is far different from God's, and that is only logical since the “world” does not know God, fear God, or trust God. So you must not measure yourself or your success by the world's standard. To do so would be foolish. Jesus, right before His crucifixion, when praying for his disciples said: “they do not belong to the world”. It is the same for us, we are in the world but we do not “belong to the world.”

Therefore, what the world considers "failure" may not be failure at all. For instance, if you did not meet your goals today, it does not mean that you failed; but if you violate one of God's principles that would be failure-and that can be handled immediately by repentance and confession.

God and obedience to His principles, will take us from failure to success by humbling us to the point where we know the only way to genuinely succeed, or to be blameless, is through Him.
So, how does one recover from falling short? How does one go from stumbling to standing?
The answers will be varied according to where and how we failed, but the source will always remain the same . . . God Word. That is why we must be in the Word of God on a consistent basis. But it is going to take discipline on our part.

Do not give in to despair - God is our redeemer. He buys back, buys out, rescues, sets free, protects. He is the God of another chance to all who genuinely have a change of mind and throw themselves into His outstretched arms.

You may be thinking, "That may be true, it may work for you or for you others, but it won't work for me." If so, then you are listening to the liar, Satan (for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44). You have met the thief whose “purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. John 10:10. The one who is determined to keep you a failure. The only way you will bring him down, the only way you will extinguish those fiery arrows is through the God’s Word, the Bible. His Word is truth . . . and it will lead us to victory.

So, run to God. Confess your failure-name it for what it is. Call it nothing less, don't sugarcoat it or gloss over it. Call it by name. Be honest, be blunt. Say it aloud. Tell God you want to succeed, not fail, and that you know only He can do that. Tell Him you are willing to do whatever is necessary if He will simply show you what to do by laying it upon your heart, putting it in your mind. Then check it out. Make sure what you are "hearing in your mind, feeling in your heart" is in accord with the whole teaching of the Bible.

If you have that assurance, then do whatever God leads you to do. Remember, if what you are feeling, if what you are hearing is of God, it will be in keeping with His character and with His Word. If you are wrong, but in your heart you want to do right, God will make that known to you (Philippians 3:15). When you are convinced of what God wants you to do, then cling to Him, to His promises . . . and watch what God will do! Strive to do to all He tells you. Don't turn to the right or to the left. Then and only then you will have success, for it is God's intent that you succeed rather than fail.

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. (Joshua 1:8).

Failure can either be a stumbling block that flattens you or it can be a stepping-stone to a life of success built upon the unmovable Cornerstone. It is all a matter of faith.

The remedy for failure is faith . . . faith's obedience, faith's trust in the One who stands behind every word of His holy book, the Bible.

Remember, you only fail if you refuse to believe God and refuse to allow your failure to be a stepping-stone to being more Christ-like.