PRAY for God's Open Doors 🙏

PRAY for God's Open Doors

Hello Ted,

**Please forgive me- I know this is long, but based upon the great NEED for believers to proclaim the Way, Truth and the Life, please read it and pass it on as the Holy Spirit leads** tgs

PRAY FOR GOD’S OPEN DOORS:

A Bible based action plan that can greatly enhance

your life and multiply the Gospel of Jesus Christ

MY FAVORITE VERSES ON HOW TO WITNESS

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬-‭6‬ ‭

1-Devote yourselves to prayer

2-Pray for open doors to proclaim Christ

3-Pray that the message is clear

4-Act wisely around unbelievers

5-Make the most of every opportunity

6-Conversation full of grace so they’ll want more

SO HOW DO YOU PUT THIS ESSENTIAL TEACHING INTO ACTION?

As you read 2 of my recent witness experiences, look at the contents of Colossians 4:2-6 and the summary covering 1-6. How many of the points 1-6 were covered in the witness encounters?

Most important- how “specifically” have the verses helped you to become a better witness of your faith in Christ?

About 7 days ago I met "R.A." from Nepal, India on the #1 tee box
R.A. lives 8,100 miles from Atlanta, Georgia
He is 19 years old
He plays golf on the college freshman team
He was sick for many weeks but is now regaining strength and ready to give golf along with his studies a go again

HOW WE MET (Again, refer to Colossians verses above)

As I have always done for 50 years- I prayed that God would use me in the life of another golfer.

FACT: Where we spend our time we are a witness whether we like it or not.

Why not be a good witness?

It is so sad when churches only equate witnessing to short term, foreign countries- somewhere rather than where we live, move and have our being. Unfortunately America is the worse for it.

How much of your church budget is dedicated to Gospel outreach in your local area as described in this email?

MY EXPERIENCE:

The local golf course nearby was booked so I prayed and went to a popular 9 hole public course about an hour away. I made a tee time.

I ran some errands and was running late so I phoned the pro shop and they bumped my tee time later 45 minutes.

I finally arrived at the popular golf course. Strangely, I did not have anyone joining me, so I waited about 20 minutes. Then my plan was to play holes 1 and 2 and as a result be close to #1 tee box after finishing #2

GREAT PLAN, HOWEVER-

No one came to #1!

AMAZING- I was DETERMINED! (Please put yourself in my spot. Would you have waited?)

I played 1 and 2 three times! FINALLY, after about an hour a young man named "RA" was teeing off on #1 by himself from the very back pro tees. I asked if I could join him. He said, "YOU WANT TO PLAY GOLF WITH ME?"

Of course my answer was, “YES!”

Right off the bat I began asking him questions. I found out RA was from Nepal, India- 8,100 miles from Atlanta!

He was attending a local well known college and was, again endeavoring to be on the golf team. The golf coach wanted him to play the 9 hole course for good practice. Remember, he was hitting from the pro tees...I hit from the men’s tees which are approximately 30+ yards up from where he hit. But he still out hit my drives!!!

I asked RA a lot of questions and he started to ask me questions also.

We were only playing 9 holes. I found out about his family- RA’s Mom and Dad are still in Nepal. His sister also lives in Atlanta. He definitely misses his father and mother.

FAMILY- the Springboard

I used “family” as a springboard and I gave my testimony, talking about my upbringing of 4 broken homes, staunch atheism, & studied Psychology for 5 years. I concluded by telling him how I claimed Jesus as my Savior from all my sins of thought, word and deed after reading the Bible a Chaplain gave me in the Army.

RA is very smart and knows a lot about world news and religions, including Christianity. After he heard my testimony the flood gates were opened. He asked me non stop questions about my faith in Christ for well over an hour.

Perhaps most interesting to him, he could understand Tudi’s Lutheran background (he knew a lot about Martin Luther). He had a lot of questions about my atheistic background, then becoming a Christian, reading the Bible, discovering my sin, claiming Jesus as my Savior- But chose not to identify with a particular denomination. Rather, I simply followed Jesus Christ. (I also made sure he knew I was not down on denominations.)

We drew very close during the 2 hours together. I gave him a wristband and he put it on. As we departed, RA went on to play more golf. We are hoping to get together again sometime soon. Please pray that might happen.

However if it doesn’t I have full confidence that Holy Spirit of God has others at college who will follow through.

It’s important I stress that we are not the “whole enchilada”- we are to proceed as far as the Holy Spirit allows. My own salvation proves that truth- some planted, some watered but God gave the increase. The Chaplain who gave me the Bible that changed my life in El Paso, TX did not know the ones who planted and watered in SoCal.

It was a wonderful eternal experience meeting RA. Thank you Lord!

Totally different-

THE SECOND recent witness experience was very different!

A friend of ours has a brother he is concerned about regarding his personal faith in Christ.

Ronnie, a dear friend of ours and myself were with the 2 brothers driving in a car together. The timing seemed right in the conversation and I asked Ronnie to share with the 3 of us his personal testimony of how he came to have faith in Christ. All 4 of us were in the car driving to our destination.

READY-

1 Peter 3:15 says, “But in your hearts revere 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.”

The Bible tells us to be ready to give answer for the hope that is in us with gentleness and respect. Ronnie was ready!

As he shared his testimony he concluded by saying after he prayed to claim Jesus as his Savior he went home to tell his wife Sheila. Abruptly during their conversation he asked Sheila, "ARE YOU SURE YOU HAVE PERSONALLY CLAIMED JESUS AS YOUR SAVIOR???“ After asking twice and Sheila answering “YES” twice, RONNIE was finally assured Sheila was saved.

Ronnie’s testimony greatly impacted both brothers and I am looking forward to seeing how Holy Spirit follows through.

CHURCH ATTENDER = Christian??

Unfortunately I have found over and over again when asked, "Are you a Christian?" People will respond, “Yes, I go _____ church” rather than saying, "Yes, I claimed Jesus as my Savior when I was -______. I now attend _________ church."

Often the idea of outreach to some is solely inviting people to church, not Jesus. (Tudi and I do it all the time but not solely). Jesus is most often never a part of their conversation.

God bless Ronnie for making Jesus known through his personal testimony.

CONCLUSION:

We have talked about two different witness testimonies based upon Colossians 4:2-6- on the golf course and in a car.

Tudi in a different way is outstanding at throwing out seeds through her relationships in the neighborhood, golf course, exercise- wherever she "lives, moves and has her being." Acts 17:28

SO WHY NOT WITNESS and be a SEED PLANTER? Fearfulness is very often given as a reason we don't witness. Seed planting as a doorway to witnessing is a very effective spiritual exercise towards being an effective soul winner.

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." - 1 John 4:18

PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR-

You say, “But I'm still fearful!”

He says, ”GOD HAS NOT GIVEN YOU THE SPIRIT OF FEAR BUT OF POWER, LOVE AND A SOUND MIND -2 Tim. 1:7

You say, “I don’t know how to explain my faith.”

NO “EXCUSES”- Learn to do the following: learn to ask questions and listen vs. do all the talking

1-Devote yourselves to prayer!!! What’s your excuse not to pray for relatives, neighbors, co workers, where you shop, recreate, work, exercise, etc.

2-Pray for OPEN DOORS to proclaim Christ. Just like Ronnie, your simple, humble testimony is perfect. What’s your excuse?

3-Pray that the message is clear (the wristband tells the basics)

4-Act wisely around unbelievers (ask questions and listen)

5-Make the most of every opportunity (pray for God’s OPEN DOORS)

6-Conversation is full of grace so they’ll want more (love their soul more than self)

WITNESS BREAKTHROUGH trains believers to “ask meaningful questions, listen intently, fall in love with the souls of people, & be compelled by love not duty to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ”

ALSO- during our training sessions we discuss the importance of being a seed planter. A perfect example is giving someone the wristband and trusting the Holy Spirit to bring another witness into the person’s life. As WB says, 'YOU ARE NOT THE WHOLE ENCHILADA!'

Daily PRAYING for His OPEN DOORS to proclaim JESUS makes every day come alive- whether on the GOLF COURSE or in a CAR.

Wherever and everywhere, praying to “seed plant” and/or proclaim:

"JESUS IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE- no one comes to the Father except through Him." John 14:6

Ted

P.S.S.

As a reminder, here are the Weekly Prayer Topics:

Week 1- Pray Scripture to pray more wisely and draw closer to God

Week 2- Pray "Your will be done" (when you really just want to say "no!")

Weeks 3 & 4- Pray “HELP “ when faced with major health and/or financial issues

Week 5- Prayer In the Business World- Don’t waste 80% of your Life

Week 6- Pray for your children/grandchildren

Week 7- Pray for your church to be a house of prayer/ outreach