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THE MIRACLE ON 45AVE.

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miracleBy Ken Blue

Unobserved, and of no interest to those who never knew, That eternal business was discussed on Forty-Fourth Avenue.

A little band that prayed for land, the year of seventy-two, Gave God a reason, it was the season to trust and to do.

The owners replied, and we complied, with witnesses: two. What began continues the plan, on Forty-Fourth Avenue.

 Sacrifice, a will to work, visions Satan could not subdue; The little band that stood on the land, into the hundreds grew.

 Every Sunday, from far and near, visitors come two by two. At invitation time, you will find sinners in line waiting to say, “I do”.

 Hundreds surrendered to serve at home, and some across the blue. The question is, would you respond, “Here I am”, if He called you?

Miracles persist at Open Door, as we stay faithful and true. Windows of heaven remain open, on Forty-Fourth Avenue.

 

The number one purpose of Jesus

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The number one purpose of JesusJesus came to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).  His mission is to find His lost sheep and carry them back into the fold.  He wanted to get people to see others who were lost and work on bringing them into the fold.

Through parables He teaches this great doctrine and many do not understand.  They blindly go through life living the “religious” experience enjoying what God can do for them rather than what they can do for God and others.  They are like modern day pharisees. The Pharisees sought self promotion rather than the souls of men.  They didn’t care about sinners.  The truth of the matter is that they were motivated by the praise of men rather than the exaltation of God.

Jesus was not like this.  Neither did He teach that any of His disciples be like this.  He taught something very different from this.  In fact, the number one purpose of Jesus was winning the lost.  He did not seek personal exaltation.  He cared for lost souls.

This AUDIO sermon will help you gain valuable knowledge on this subject: WHAT WAS JESUS’ #1 PURPOSE

HOW IMPORTANT IS SOUL-WINNING

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How Important Is Soul-Winning

Soul-WinningBy Ken Blue

How important is soul-winning? Perhaps the following illustration will help you decide: A storm developed in the Pacific Ocean and for several days the waves crashed against the sandy beaches of the Hawaiian Islands. Thousands of sand dollars washed upon the seashore and were stranded. A lady, walking along the beach, saw them and one by one began tossing them back into the ocean. A man came along and said, “You’re wasting your time. There are too many for you to make a difference.” She picked up one and threw it back into the water and said, “It made a difference to that one.” She picked up another and as she tossed it back into the ocean she said, “It made a difference to that one.”

I ask you, how important is soul-winning? You decide. It will make a difference to that one.

ONE OUT OF TEN AIN’T BAD

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One out of Ten Ain’t Bad

One out of ten“And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.” Luke 17:17-18

In the early days of my ministry I invited people to church, and they looked me straight in the eye and said, “I’ll see you Sunday.” If I got ten promises, I expected ten people. I soon discovered that most people do not keep their commitments. Since I had no way of knowing who would come, my only option was to raise the odds; I would get more promises.

Some pastors are disappointed when they count the meager returns. But don’t despair, if you get ten professions and one returns, you are doing as good as Jesus did. The way to raise the returns is to raise the professions. I would rather have ten returns out of a hundred than one out of ten.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The way to raise the returns is to raise the professions.[/pullquote]

Remember, no one knows who really get’s saved. We don’t know how and when the Holy Spirit is working in the heart of another. Don’t let the fear of picking “green fruit” or the possibility of getting a “still birth” keep you from winning people to Jesus. There are three parts to winning people to Christ.

# 1. Your part: get them to trust Jesus.
# 2. Their part: trusting Him.
# 3. God’s part: saving them.

If you only get one out of ten, it ain’t bad.

THE IMPLODING CHURCH

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  imploding church

By Ken Blue

How do you keep from having an imploding church? Let’s assume you are going to start a church from nothing. The one thing you must consider is, where are we going to meet? Will we meet in a home, a barn, or some other facility?

Next, on your priority list will be soul winning. You can’t have church without people, and you can’t have people without some form of contact. Therefore, every thought, and effort will be on how to reach others, and get them into the new church. This will be the driving force at the time, and rightfully so.

As new families come into the church, you have the challenge of how to teach the different age groups, and provide child care for the infants. These are just a few of the growing pains, but you learn how to solve them.

New growth brings new needs. People need real discipleship. They need ministries to serve in. At this point, you may have to consider a new meeting place to care for the growth. So, property is located, buildings are built, and finances are needed. More and more the church adds new demands. The church is humming with excitement.

That is why success may be your downfall. Little by little, the vision shifts. Everyone now has someone to fellowship with. They are becoming one happy family. Everybody knows each other, and pays extra attention to each other.  The growth has brought new demands. Thus, most of the money, time and service is bestowed on the existing congregation. Everyone is busy, but something subtle has happened.

Planning meetings are no longer about soul winning, and growth. All the plans now are about how to feed the monster. The outreach has shifted to programs, and activities.  A new missionary may be added once each year for conscience sake.

The church has now reached its stagnation point. Everything is about the “church family.” The very thing that gave life and growth, is now forgotten and left behind. Most of the members have grey hair. They are comfortable and don’t want to be disturbed.

The death of the church is inevitable. The only way to keep a church alive is to have new, young blood added every week.  Where are all the great soul winning churches of fifty years ago? They are either dead and gone, or dead and being embalmed each year. Your church, too, will die unless you keep outreach hot, and on the front burner. A church must be a maternity ward, or it becomes a museum.  If you neglect these, stand back and watch the implosion.