And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. (Luke 10:2)
As we approach the end of 2024 a generous supporter of Bezeugen has offered to match all donations up to a total of $2024. That means that you can double your impact in reaching people with the Gospel. All you need to do is make a donation in November or December and Mande will take care of the rest! A tract club membership costs Bezeugen approx. $30 per member per year. Your donations can go farther in covering these costs by taking advantage of this matching opportunity. You can make a donation online.
This is the 194th mailing of the Bezeugen Tract Club.
Recently I was in the Dallas West End sharing the Gospel. Several of us from Bezeugen Ministries have been going to this location for many years. If you are not familiar with the area, it is in downtown Dallas where the light rail and the bus lines come together. There are always people coming and going because it is either their final destination, or they are transferring from a train to a bus or vice versa. You also see a large variety of people. Some are tourists. Some are businessmen. Some are homeless. Since we’ve been going to the same location for more than a decade, sometimes we see some of the same people.
I consider Gospel tracts a kind of bait for fishing. Afterall, Jesus said he would make us fishers of men. Fishermen don’t drop a plain hook in the water. They put bait on the hook. The fish is attracted to the bait and then it is caught by the hook. The parallel is not exactly the same, but it works. If I take a stack of tracts and hand one to each person saying “did you get one of these?” most people will take one. Some will say, “what is it?”. Just like that there is a fish on the line.
Once someone is interested in talking, I’ll often ask the person “do you know how to get to Heaven from here?” I get every response to this. “I’m good” and then walk away. Religion. Works. Etc. But one man the other day started preaching the Gospel back to me. He was talking about sin, Jesus death and resurrection, the need for repentance and faith. It was a joyful time to listen to God’s word! He tried to give the tract back to me. But I encouraged him to keep it and “share it with someone else”. I hope and pray that he did.
Sometimes, however, when someone asks “what is this?” they do not know the way to Heaven. This is a great opportunity to explain it to them. This is where the Ten Commandments can help. Ask them if they think they have been good enough to go to Heaven, based on the Ten Commandments? I normally start with “how many lies have you told in your lifetime?” Recently someone told me “many lies”. So then I asked, using his own words, “what do you call someone who has told many lies?” I’m looking for them to admit and actually call themselves a liar. Then move on to “have you killed anyone?” But you can stop them before they answer and say “in Matthew 5, Jesus says if you even hate your brother or call them a fool, you’ve already murdered them in you heart”? Same with asking about adultery. Once you have a couple yes’s, then it’s time to ask about judgement. “Bob, by your own admission you are a lying, thieving, murderous, adulterer at heart. When you die, should God reward you in Heaven, or punish you in Hell?” People don’t like to think of themselves as destined for Hell so they will come up with all kinds of excuses. But once they understand their destiny, then it’s time for good news. “What if you stood before a judge and we sentenced to life in prison or pay a million dollar fine?” Mostly I’d ask this if I am sure the person doesn’t have a million dollars. If they might, then make in ten million or hundred million. Then go on “Someone you don’t even know walks in and offers to pay the fine, how would you feel?” The only real answer is grateful. And that is a picture of the Gospel!
If you are not already a member of the Bezeugen Tract Club, receiving 30 FREE Gospel tracts per month, you can enroll online.
