[3rd of 7 files] OBEDIENT GOD The book of Hebrews in the New Testament says some amazing things about the Lord Jesus Christ, among them: "through whom [His Son, Jesus Christ] He [God] made the world," and that at present the Lord Jesus "upholds all things by the word of His power." Concerning the Deity of Jesus, "But of the Son He [God the Father] says,'Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever...'" In view of these statements that Christ is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe; THE PROCESS of becoming a human being, living the perfect human life, and becoming both the perfect High Priest and the perfect sacrifice is MIND-BLOWING. One statement is especially provoking: "Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered." (Hebrews 5:8 NAS) Becoming a human being was the only way God the Son COULD "learn" obedience, through the experience of becoming the Father's obedient Son and Isaiah's prophesied Suffering Servant. The first ten verses of Hebrews 5 discuss how the Lord Jesus became the High Priest of the New Covenant. He was already perfect in Himself as God the Son. Through His obedience, He BECAME the perfect High Priest AND the perfect sacrifice, the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." This was the course which He had to run, the assignment He had to accomplish. The New Testament book of Hebrews, depending on the edition, would be about 16 pages or less. We challenge you to get a good modern translation of the Bible such as New American Standard, the New King James Version, or the New International Version, and READ IT FOR YOURSELF. Whether we are able to answer all your questions or not, we'd like to meet you and talk with you. You will find in the book of Hebrews that the crucified and risen Lord Jesus lives today to be for you the perfect Prophet and Priest and King. He's "just perfect for you." Put your trust in Jesus. [Clyde Price SHOT15] "I WAS THERE WHEN IT HAPPENED!" Someone challenged, "Well, how do you KNOW you became a Christian right then?" And the young man replied, "Because I was THERE WHEN IT HAPPENED!" An "expert witness" may be called to the stand to testify about a subject he knows about. Material witnesses are called to testify because they have PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE about something that has happened. They know about it because they were "there when it happened." The apostle John wrote, "What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ." (I John 1:3 NAS) Even if someone disagrees with what we teach, or even rejects the Bible entirely, it's hard to argue with people who testify that because of Jesus Christ, their marraiges have been put back together, they've been set free from addiction to chemicals or illicit sex or a meaningless materialistic lifestyle. And we take SPECIAL joy in the children of believers who have come to love the Lord Jesus at an early age, and who, because of Him, have been spared many of the pains and pollutions of the gross sins of the world. Their testimony of God's faithfulness from the cradle to the grave will have great impact in the Kingdom. We invite you to read the Gospel and the Letters of John to see more of what we are talking about. And come visit us. We'd like to meet you. We're able to sing the pop-song, "What a Difference You've Made in My Life" as a praise-song to the Lord Jesus Christ. At our church, we have a bunch of folks who are ready and eager to give their "testimony" about what Jesus Christ has done for them, and they KNOW, because they were "there when it happened." It's hard to argue with that. Put your trust in Jesus. He'll make a big difference in your life, too. [Clyde Price SHOT16] THE ANOINTING OF REALITY As Christians who are eager to introduce others to the Lord Jesus Christ, there are often times when talking to another person or a group of people that we are conscious of a flow of power coursing along the channel of our witness, and sometimes guiding us to say things we had not previously planned to say. People have remarked about Billy Graham that the most important factor in his preaching was not his own eloquence, but that as he preached, people were conscious of the presence of another Person who was bearing witness to the message. After His crucifixion and resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ said to His disciples, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:8 NAS) We depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to impel us out of our easy chairs, to lead us in our witness, and to give our message an "anointing of Reality" in the hearts of the people who hear us, the Spirit bearing witness that our message really is the Truth. One of the things we routinely ask people to do is this: read through the Gospel of John, and ask God Himself to show you if this is the Truth. If you are sincere, He is already committed to show you. People who consider "their" religion to be an intensely "personal" matter, and who resent strangers or acquaintances who attempt to "force their religion down other people's throats" entirely misunderstand our motives. We have been enjoined by our Savior and King and best Friend to take the Good News of salvation and abundant life SIMULTANEOUSLY throughout our own neighborhood, and out into surrounding areas, across our nation and all over the planet. And even to YOU. We CAN'T "cram it down your throat", but we do encourage you strongly: Put your trust in Jesus. [Clyde Price SHOT17] READY TO ANSWER Have you ever seen somebody wearing a pin that said "Jesus First" or "Jesus is Lord", and you wondered what it was they were into? Did you ask about it, or were you bashful about asking a "personal" question? If you have any degree of interest at all, PLEASE go ahead and ask 'em. The apostle Peter wrote one of the "standing orders" for followers of Jesus, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect..." (I Peter 3:15 NIV) Of course, we would not dare to endorse in advance everything said by just anybody who is wearing a Christian pin, nor to guarantee absolutely that such a person is going to be courteous. But most people who go to the trouble of acquiring and wearing a "Jesus First" or "Jesus is Lord" pin, have already made Jesus Christ the Lord of their lives and consider His Kingdom to have first priority in their lives. They (we) put on those little pins IN THE HOPE that they will lead to conversations with people. As a matter of fact, you could get started reading the Gospel of John on your own, and start writing down questions you'd like to have answered. More in the spirit of what Peter was addressing, if you see someone you know is a Christian obviously having a hard time and yet responding to conditions with a peace and an inner power that you do not understand, go ahead and ask 'em, "Hey, man, what makes you tick? How do you do it?" It was a previously given "homework assignment" that they should be willing and ready to answer your question. If you are already a Christian, you obviously need to be able to give your testimony clearly with no notice, and be able to share the gospel simply, clearly and quickly with any person willing to listen to you. All right, Christians, you have your "homework". And for you who haven't yet trusted Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord, we encourage you to put your trust in Jesus; and any questions you have about that, we'll be glad to try to answer. [Clyde Price SHOT18] 18 B "LET'S GET PERSONAL" In using short articles like this as one element of your local church outreach, it may be that a copy of your typewritten and mimeographed or photocopied church bulletin carrying an evangelistic article as a feature COULD have more impact on people than a beautifully printed glossy tract. In the medium of a newsletter, you can link a gospel "shot" with a clear notice that at THIS location and at THESE times there are some warm breathing PEOPLE who can be looked over and talked with. There are people in THIS church who are seeking to know Christ personally and to make Him known widely. And THESE are the very people who can pass this letter along into the hand of somebody they can look in the eye and grin at. In my personal ministry, I often use printed tracts. Before passing them out, I have signed thousands of them by hand and given my phone number. Sometimes I put my mailing label or personal rubber stamp with my P.O.Box number so that there is an open channel back to the "sower". (Applying this, here's my address: Mr. Clyde C. Price, Jr., P.O.Box 667, Red Oak, GA 30272-0667 USA. CIS#76616,3452) Though so far, few people have gotten back to me that way, there are thousands of people in metro Atlanta who have had Clyde Price's personal endorsement of the Good News. I think this carries more weight than an unmarked piece professionally printed in another state. This is why I prefer to write things to be used by LOCAL CHURCHES instead of just promoting my own ministries and programs. I would rather be your servant and EFFECTIVE through YOUR "endorsement" and follow-up, than to be a famous evangelist with little lasting fruit. I challenge you to find ways to make your outreach more personal, even as you expand into more public media. ccp BELIEVE THE BAD NEWS! If you don't believe the Bad News, the Good News isn't really good news, it's either meaningless or insulting. The Good News of salvation and eternal abundant life in Jesus Christ means very little to people who believe that they are already "good enough" for God, or who think that God is going to accept everybody. Many people have a concept of God that closely resembles a white-robed, nearsighted grandfather/Santa Claus who loves to embrace unwashed filthy children. In countries infected with the Santa Claus myth, this confusion may come about through ascribing to St. Nick several attributes of Deity, thus making him an idol or false god, and encouraging confusion with the true and living God. The God-who-really-is is a holy God who hates and must punish sin (see Nahum 1:3). And the Bible says clearly, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23 NAS). We're all in the same boat. If you don't think that you have sinned VERY MUCH, consider this: "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." (James 2:10 NIV) Now you know that according to the Bible YOU are a sinner who needs a Savior. That's the Bad News. Now you're ready for the GOOD NEWS: "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8 NIV) We did not simply make this up. Read the book of Romans for yourself. You can probably do it in less than three hours. One evangelism teacher jokingly proposed this approach to strangers: Worker-"Are you ungodly?" The surprised victim would probably answer, "No, I'm not ungodly. What do you think I am, a heathern?" Zealous workers reply- "Well, that's too bad. You can't be saved then. The Bible says 'Christ died for the ungodly.' [Rom 5:6] If you're not ungodly, then Christ didn't die for you." Whether you think this is funny or not, don't miss the point. News of the Savior is only good news when you realize that you need a Savior. Put your trust in Jesus. [SHOT19 Clyde Price] CONFLICT OF INTEREST Among public officials, there is a commonly used phrase "conflict of interest", and this is a condition which is either carefully avoided or concealed. Many individuals, whether "public" or private, deliberately avoid making a commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ because they know that some of the things they are doing and the policies they are following are incompatible with faith in Christ. The Lord Jesus gave this evaluation: "And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil." (John 3:19 NAS) The word "loved" in this passage is the Greek verb AGAPAO, usually used to refer to the God-kind of love. This involves a RELIGIOUS love of darkness, a deliberate committment on the level of "religion"--whether it's called that or not--to exalt and practice evil. In this immediate passage, and in the first three chapters of John, it is made clear that people who are genuinely open to the "light" of Truth will be drawn to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you know that you are committed to things which God will not accept, we call on you to REPENT, and find forgiveness in the Lord Jesus. Nothing on earth is worth the alternative of eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth. If you consider yourself an "honest seeker after Truth", we invite you to read the Gospel and letters of John, and ask God to show you whether this is Truth or not. We confidently expect that you will encounter Reality in our Lord Jesus Christ. Come and talk with us. We'd like to meet you. [SHOT20 Clyde Price] [end of 3rd file of 7]