The Book's Purpose

• Discover why many Christians feel unsatisfied with their lives
• Learn how to live your life more fully and in the manner God purposed for you
• Change the way you perceive and “do” evangelism
• Start living an others-focused life that will leave a spiritual legacy

The Book's Message

• Discover why many Christians feel unsatisfied with their lives
• Learn how to live your life more fully and in the manner God purposed for you
• Change the way you perceive and “do” evangelism
• Start living an others-focused life that will leave a spiritual legacy

Why We Are Dissatified

It’s easy for our lives to fall into a predictable holding pattern. As followers of Christ, we are busy with plenty of godly activities, but this is not enough to keep us from hungering for more. The problem isn’t the quantity of these activities, but their quality. Simply doing more and more of a good thing is not enough to keep our lives from seeming like they are standing still. The key to satisfaction is doing something that pushes us outside of ourselves.

Temporal vs. Eternal Living

God created us as eternal beings with an eternal purpose. The more time we spend on temporal activities, as good as they may be, the more we will hunger for the eternal ones. None of our stuff~jobs, homes, or material possessions~will last forever. But God has made us with a drive to do something that will last forever. This tension can cause dissatisfaction in our lives.

God has called us to move out of our small, comfortable lives and to pursue something bigger than ourselves~something that will require total reliance on Him. God likes to come and shake up our orderly lives. If we let Him, He will give our lives greater meaning as we live for that which is eternal.

The Jesus Lifeboat

One of the greatest tragedies during the sinking of the Titanic was that many of those who made it into the water alive were left stranded by half-empty lifeboats that rowed away without rescuing them. Out of 20 lifeboats rowing to safety, only 1 turned back in time to save a few other passengers. Over 300 of the 1,517 people who died that night lost their lives simply because those who were already saved did not go back to rescue more!

The story of the Titanic is an apt picture of the Church. We who are saved and comfortable in our churches are failing to rescue those who are drowning in the world around us. God is urging us to get out of our “safe Jesus lifeboats” and reach out to those struggling to survive in the water. We need to get beyond our temporal, self-focused lives and introduce them to Christ and the hope of eternal life. Me-centered Christianity will never satisfy the longing and restlessness that God has put in our hearts to make a difference in our world.

Developing an Urgency

When we ask God to help us see others through His eyes, we discover how empty and desperate those around us truly are. Seeing the crowds of people wandering around like lost sheep, Jesus had compassion on them. Our Lord wants us to share in this compassion~and an urgency to lead these lost ones to Him, the Good Shepherd.

It is natural for us to be consumed with ourselves and our daily routines. But God wants to consume us with passion to see the people in our lives the way He sees them. The Bible gives us some ideas of how God sees those who do not know Him: “staggering toward slaughter” (Proverbs 24:11), “condemned” (John 3:18), “perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18), and “living in darkness” (Matthew 4:16).

Until we have a sense of urgency about the rescue mission God has entrusted to us, those around us will remain in their current state, and we will remain dissatisfied with our lives. We must ask God to break our hearts for the lost and allow Him to give us His love and compassion for them.

Christ’s Ambassadors

Second Corinthians 5:20 tells us that we are Christ’s ambassadors. It is an ambassador’s job to represent a person or a country in another place. The ambassador should be a reflection of what he or she represents in every way.

We have been called to be a reflection of Jesus wherever we go~our homes, our neighborhoods, our workplaces, and our schools.

As believers, we are ambassadors whether or not we want the title. Because we are His children, people will form opinions of Jesus based on our lives. The greatest divine assignment for us is to be His ambassadors in His rescue mission~saving people from an eternity in hell.

God’s power enables us to accomplish this mission. We do not have to do it alone. In fact, we can’t. Our job is simply to be willing and available~ and to reach out to as many as possible. As we commit to God’s rescue plan and dare to get out of our Jesus lifeboats, our lives will begin to take on deeper fulfillment and satisfaction.

Reaching Into Others' Lives

If we are willing to let God break our hearts for the lost, He will use us in magnificent ways. He will start with those closest to us with whom we already have relationships. It doesn’t matter what we do for a living, what kind of personality we have, or what talents He has given us; we are all equipped and responsible for reaching those who do not yet know Christ.

Divinely Assigned

When we realize that our everyday activities are divinely ordered, we will start to understand the significance of the things we do and the people we meet. God has surrounded us with people only we can reach. We work at the jobs we do, go to the schools we do, and shop at the malls we do by God’s design. Lost people are looking for common, everyday people to reach out to them~people who can relate to them. They are not looking for religious professionals to talk to. The task before us is to use the natural platforms God has already provided to influence those who travel in our circles.

Want-To vs. How-To

Each of us is responsible for trying to rescue the spiritually lost people God has placed in our lives. In order to do so, we need to both want to do it and know how to do it. Pastors often assume that their people want to go out and win the lost. This is a false assumption. If people are not willing to be rescuers, the best sermons and teachings on evangelism will not motivate them.

Some people feel they do not have the evangelistic gift. While it’s true that there is a gift of evangelism given to some (Ephesians 4:11), we are all charged with the responsibility to share Christ with others.

Others believe that they need to have a certain personality or to be a particular type of person in order to be effective at evangelism. But God can~and will~use all types of people.

But even if we truly do want to reach out to unbelievers, we will not be effective if we do not know how to do so. We must learn how to both show Jesus to others through the silent witness of our lives and talk about Him in our conversations. Once people see Jesus in us, we will then have the right to talk about Him, because then we are simply giving “an answer to everyone who asks ... to give the reason for the hope” (1 Peter 3:15).

Communicating Christ

Average, everyday Christians are in the best position to communicate Christ to unbelievers. Here are ten practical steps for doing so. The first five are ways to show Christ to others, while the last five are ways to talk about Christ with others:

1. Love them in their language. While a person may reject our beliefs, he will not reject our acts of love and kindness. Anyone can identify particular needs someone may have and then meet those needs in a practical, loving way.
2. Be there during hard times. Be available to those who are hurting or going through a difficult time. A person remembers when another is there for her when she is at her worst.
3. Be there during good times. Celebrate with those around you. Be a part of moments of rejoicing by remembering their birthdays, going to their weddings, and celebrating their accomplishments.
4. Show real interest. Be a good listener and ask questions to let others know you truly care about their lives.
5. Pray with them. Once you establish yourself as a person who cares, people will begin opening up to you and sharing their concerns about current issues they face. Aside from just saying you will be praying for a person, ask him if you can pray right then and there. Very few will turn you down.
6. Pray the “three-open prayer.” This prayer, based on Colossians 4:3-4, asks God to open a door for your message, open the person’s heart, and open your mouth so you can communicate effectively.
7. Write a thank-you letter. Write a note of gratitude to family or friends who do not know Christ. Within the context of your genuine thanks, gently present a relationship with Jesus to them. Often when we write something, we say it better than when we try to speak it, and the person reading it receives it better.
8. Prepare your “testimony tool kit.” Use your personal testimony as a vehicle for reaching others. Customize your testimony according to the specific needs and circumstances of the particular person. Prepare yourself ahead of time by asking yourself what Jesus has done in different aspects of your life.
9. Lend something Christian. Lend out Christian resources, such as books or CDs that address a particular need or interest of the person you are trying to reach. Lend them instead of give them so you can discuss the resources when they are returned to you.
10. Invite them to an outreach event. Be on the lookout for events your friends might enjoy. Use the event as an opportunity to get together with them, either before or after, to discuss Jesus.

The Role of Prayer in Your Rescue Mission

“Many Jesus-followers miss their destiny on earth because they are so focused on themselves. They focus on themselves because they underestimate and undertrust God … prayer is the weapon that unleashes all the power of God to bring dying people to the cross of Jesus.” Praying for the lost should be a regular part of our lives. Instead of trusting in the “powerless P’s”~persuasion, programs, promotion, and personality~ we must rely on the power of God.

For our prayers to be effective, they must be focused. The Bible identifies five specific targets upon which we should focus our prayers:

1. Pray for natural opportunities (Colossians 4:3).
2. Pray for prepared hearts (Acts 16:14).
3. Pray for your heart (Matthew 9:38).
4. Pray for God’s words (Ephesians 6:19).
5. Pray for a paralyzed enemy (Colossians 1:13).

The lost around us will only make it into heaven one way~as a result of our prayers building the foundation for their salvation.

Adapting to Our Culture

To be effective communicators of Christ’s love, we need to realize that our culture has changed drastically over the past few decades. We have become a post-Christian culture. Therefore, we must change our methods if we are ever going to rescue the lost around us. First, we must realize that the lost do not know the Bible. So, while we need to refer to the Bible when talking about Jesus, we also need to let the person know why we are referring to the Bible.

Because many do not know the Bible, they do not know God’s rules. Consequently, they believe that sin is a nonissue and that there are no absolutes. Instead of starting with the person’s sin, we should start with the symptoms of their sin causing problems in their lives.

Another roadblock in this post-Christian culture is that the lost do not speak our language. We must make sure that we are communicating in a way that people can understand, using nonreligious terms.

The good news is that unbelievers are spiritual seekers. George Gallup noted, “Surveys document the movement of people who are searching for meaning in life with a new intensity, and want their religious faith to grow.”

The bad news is that they are seeking in all the wrong places for all the wrong things. Because of the lack of absolutes, people seeking spirituality will combine all sorts of forms of spirituality to find what they’re looking for. But, because they are not truly seeking the truth, they will never be fulfilled.

This is why it’s so important so show people that Jesus will transform their lives. He will give them the peace, the healing, the meaning~everything~ that they are searching for.

The Message We Must Communicate

As spiritual rescuers, we must focus on the message of Jesus, not Christianity in general, in our conversations. Our job is to prepare a nonreligious way to talk about Jesus. Since some lost people may not be interested in hearing about Jesus, we need to find another place to start a conversation that will eventually lead to the gospel.

Because most people are very interested in relationships and ways to make them better, discussing life’s most important relationship is a good place to start. People realize their need for relationship, but they try to fill that need with all the wrong relationships~friends, a husband or wife, or children. They don’t realize that a relationship with God is the relationship they’re searching for. To help people understand this key truth, present these basic facts to them:

• There is a relationship they were created to have.
• It’s a relationship they don’t have because of what they’ve done.
• It’s a relationship they can have because of what Jesus did.
• It’s a relationship they must choose.

A Roadmap for Rescuers

There are many aspects to be considered as we think about ways to reach the lost. There are, however, some essential components that cannot be overlooked. All of these can be found in John 4, where Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well. Digging deeper into this story, we find the key ingredients necessary for effective rescuing.

Your Personal Testimony

When Jesus met the woman at the well, she immediately ran back and told the rest of the town who she had just been speaking with (John 4:28-30, 39). Many of the Samaritans then believed in Jesus because of what the woman told them. Like the woman’s testimony, our testimony is a powerful tool to reach the lost.

To be effective, our testimony should tell people our story before our meeting Christ. Next, it should explain the story and the circumstances of our turning point. What prompted us to follow Christ? And finally, our testimony should articulate how our lives are different because of Him.

Often, our honest stories about our most difficult times provide the greatest points of our testimony.

Even if you’ve been a Christian since childhood, you still have a story to tell about your Savior. It could be the story of all the things He has saved you from having to go through, or maybe it’s about the sin and pain that you can now be delivered from because you have a relationship with Him. Just because you do not have a disaster-filled past doesn’t mean you can’t point others to what Jesus has done in your life.

Lifesaving Steps

Jesus Himself provides a great model for us in rescuing the lost. The story of the woman at the well maps out six steps Jesus used to reach the spiritually dying:

Enter their world. Jesus purposely went through Samaria, even though He didn’t have to. We can’t wait for the lost to come to us.

Go after one person. Jesus focused on one person, not the whole town; but He knew that one person could in turn eventually reach the whole town. Pray for God to put just one target person on your heart to reach, and then pray for that person every day.

Create spiritual curiosity. Jesus started His conversation with the woman by asking her for a drink, a question that led to His discussion about living water. We can create spiritual curiosity by looking for practical ways to show people we love them and by being the best coworkers, friends, or spouses we can possibly be.

Begin with their symptoms; then present the cure. Jesus approached the woman first with her need and then talked about her sin. People don’t always realize or even care about their sin. But they do care about the problems it causes them.

Avoid religious traps. Jesus wouldn’t allow the woman to steer Him into a religious debate regarding where to worship. Likewise, we must continually bring the focus of our rescue attempts back to a relationship with Jesus.

Emphasize the relationship. Jesus made sure that the woman knew that what was important was having a relationship with the Father. We must present Jesus, not religion, as the all-important factor for people.

Removing Roadblocks

Roadblocks are sure to get in our way as we attempt to reach out and save the lost. These roadblocks may be objections, questions, or misconceptions about our message. We need to expect these and prepare ourselves to handle them. We cannot afford to retreat or give up just because we run into opposition. Rescue heroes do everything they can to save those around them.

Roadblocks We’ll Encounter

One of the main objections to the gospel is the issue of hypocrisy in the church. Unbelievers love to point to other Christians~especially fallen leaders~as a reason to dismiss the call to follow Christ. But the Bible tells us to follow Jesus, not His followers or His religion. Our job here is to let people know that all Christians are imperfect. That’s why we shouldn’t follow them. But Jesus is perfect. None of His enemies in the Bible could ever find inconsistencies between His teachings and actions. So if the lost person doesn’t believe that Jesus was a hypocrite, then her argument about hypocrisy is not enough to give her a reason for not following Him.

Another roadblock is that of religion. “Satan is the blinder from hell; he loves to use a person’s religious affiliation or the individual’s personal goodness to blind him or her to the need for a personal Savior.” Ephesians 2:9 tells us that our salvation is “not by works.” This destroys every religious model on earth because it keeps us from doing enough good to outweigh the bad. We need to steer the lost away from religion and into a relationship with the only person who can save them.

A third roadblock is bitterness toward God. Many people have dismissed God because they feel He was not there when they needed Him or He hurt them in some way. This left them believing that He does not exist or does not care.

It’s not because God is bad or because He doesn’t care. We also need to tell them that Jesus is the only one who can provide any hope at all when we face difficult times, so it is in our best interests to run to Him instead of away from Him.

A final issue when trying to communicate the gospel to the lost is that many believe that all roads will lead to God. Many think that followers of Christ are arrogant and noninclusive people who look down on all other religions. Again, as rescuers, we have to transfer the focus from religion to relationship. There are many religions, but there is only one Savior. He is the only religious leader to ever be raised from the dead. It’s not that Christianity is a better religion; it’s that it offers us the only true Savior who can save us from ourselves.

Mobilizing a Rescue Army

Although roadblocks may abound, they can be overcome. As spiritual rescuers, we need to encourage others to join forces with us if we going to be effective. First, however, we must realize that not every believer has the “want to” that’s necessary to rescue the lost. Because of this, the most perfectly planned outreach events can fail when only believers show up.

To effectively mobilize Christians to reach unbelievers, they must understand the desperate need around them. Second, it’s helpful to change our vocabulary from words like witnessing and evangelism, which have taken on negative connotations, to words like rescuing, which better conveys the urgency and passion of the mission.

We also need to place a high priority on building bridges with other believers, even those who worship in other congregations, when mobilizing a rescue army.

A final consideration in mobilizing our army is to make sure to undergird the entire process with prayer.

Jesus is counting on us~all of us~to come together as His body to rescue a dying world. No one else can do it for us. There are people that only you and I can reach. The Scripture is as true today as it was in Jesus’ time: “Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35).