Black Sheep

2 Opportunities (1) We have a team that meets every Tuesday morning at 10am in our national headquarters, but since most of you can't join us in Southern California each Tuesday morning, how about you starting such a group in your area? Once a week? Once a month? Once a quarter! Praying specifically for people we know that need Jesus! (2) Laz Alba, our Director of Hispanic Ministries has caught the vision for corporate prayer and will be hosting a weekly ZOOM prayer meeting this month! (Look for it on the National Facebook page; the same place we have Facebook Live.) A Zoom prayer meeting can facilitate a hundred or more Black Sheep praying SPECIFICALLY for people to come to Christ! (3) Consider starting a one hour time of prayer each week for your chapter. Members can come together in a common location or can simply agree on a time and pray in their own homes. Either way, now your chapter is praying regularly and powerfully for those who need to discover Jesus. (4) When you do come together to pray, sometimes it is a struggle to even know what to say. Consider using the scriptures (which are powerful) and inserting the person's name you are praying for. Here are some examples: Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Father, please help ______ find that you really are the way, the truth, and the life. Help them find You as the path that they need. In Your Holy Name, Amen. Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." And so we pray, "Father, Thank you that You provide light to our paths when we follow Your Word. Please open ____'s eyes to the light and truth that can only be found in the Bible. Break down the barriers that cloud him from understanding and accepting your Word as the light and truth he needs in his life. In Jesus Name, Amen." Consider also: Ephesians 2:8-10, Ezekiel 11:19-20, Acts 4:12, Romans 5:8 or 8:38-39, Revelation 3:20, Jeremiah 29:13, 1 John 1:9. It is so POWRFUL and ENCOURAGING to PRAY THE SCRIPTURES over people's lives! (5) Finally, before you begin, we all need to prepare ourselves: ë Know what is at stake: Jesus said in Luke 19:10 that He came to SEEK and to SAVE the lost! We prepare OURSELVES by thinking about what's really going on here! It's a good thing for us to be uncomfortable with the sobering thoughts that words like hell, eternal and suffering evoke. Healing and feeding people and addressing social justice were bi-products of Christ coming but they were not the focus. He came to SEEK and to SAVE the lost! Let's wrap our heads around the fact that people are LOST! Not "lost" in the sense they are wandering around in a forest – but in the sense they have NO HOPE of ever being found unless somebody tells them about Jesus! Romans 10:13-15 reads: 13 "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." GREAT BUT 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? (And that's what I am doing today! I am passionately re- sending us to those who need to hear!) As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" ë Identify and eliminate our excuses for not praying and not reaching out. "I don't know the Bible that well..." "I'm not an evangelist!" "I'm just not an out-going person..." First of all, to get started you don't need to be a Bible scholar to share your faith. The blind man was only a few minutes old as a Christian and when interrogated by the Pharisees he simply said, "Look! All I know is I was blind and now I see." Just tell Your story! ë Load your weapons. (Prepare yourself) How silly would it be to go hunting with an unloaded or dirty gun? 1 Corinthians 10:4 reads, ' The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." Even spiritual weapons need to be loaded, and they need to be cleaned and sharpened regularly! In sharing our faith with others, we will all choose different resources (or weapons) in which to enter the battle: The Four Spiritual Laws, Romans Road, "10 Things Every Biker Needs to Know" or just a well-rehearsed testimony. 1 Peter 3:15 says "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." Prepared means you're going to have to think about it NOW so you will be ready when the opportunity arises! We've done well in ministry, but there is so much more to be done. It's time to get serious about sharing Jesus with our friends and praying fervently for their salvation! b

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