Penetrating God's World with the Gospel of Christ: Why Do Many of the Most Popular Clergy (Evangelicals, Catholics, Fundamentalists, Charismatics, Denominational Ministers, and Others) Distort, Detach, or Delete the Gospel?

By Bennie Simmons,

This book is dealing with subjects that are seldom discussed but are needed for the church to grow in number. Discipleship is important, but first we must lead the person to Christ with the right message. That message is found in the book of Acts. The essence of the Gospel was and is today in three parts: One is the person of Christ found in the four Gospels. Two is the death of Christ again found in the four Gospels. And thirdly is the resurrection of Christ. Number three being the most neglected part of the Gospel presentation. If we follow the messages by Paul and Peter in the book of Acts, we will see that all three elements are included. We discuss how Satan has tricked and fooled us by his slick presentation as concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We teach how one person can lead many to Christ before we stand at the judgement seat of Christ. This book will change you!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9781641149884

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Penetrating Godand's World with the Gospel of Christ

Why Do Many of the Most Popular Clergy (Evangelicals, Catholics, Fundamentalists, Charismatics, Denominational Ministers, and Others) Distort, Detach, or Delete the Gospel?

Bennie Simmons, Jr.

Copyright © 2018 by Bennie Simmons, Jr.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

This book is dedicated to all believers in Christ Jesus.

Believers on every continent—Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe,

South America, and North America.

Converted believers of every religion—Muslim believers, Christian believers, Catholic believers, Jewish believers, Hindu believers, Buddhist believers, all believers in Christ Jesus and His Gospel.

Let me explain concerning the converted believers:

When I was a student at the Moody Bible Institute, a converted Jew by the name of Dr. Louis Goldberg taught us that a person does not have to stop being a Jew to be a believer in Jesus Christ. But every converted Jew believes the Gospel and the truth of the Bible, Old and New Testament. A Muslim does not have to stop being Muslim to be like the converted Jewish believer. A Buddhist does not have to stop being a Buddhist to be like the converted Jewish believer. A Catholic does not have to stop being Catholic to be like converted Jewish believer. A Mormon does not have to stop being a Mormon to be like a converted Jew. A Jehovah Witness does not have to stop being a Jehovah Witness to be like a converted Jew. But they all must believe the Gospel: Christ Jesus, His death for sin, and God raising Him from the dead. And they all must repent and believe the truth of the Old and New Testament by faith, even if it contradicts some of that beliefs and writings. Some Jews are proselytes, which means that were not Jews by birth. They only chose the Jewish Faith as a religion as the Hindu or the Buddhist would do.

Because you have this book in your hand, you are a special chosen vessel of God with a ready heart for service, to be used by Him in these last days to spread His Gospel like never before in life!

2 Timothy 4:1–8 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine, Instead, to suit their own desires; they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths, but you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist fulfill your ministry.

This is not only a book on evangelism but this is a book which gives people around the world who may not have resources such as commentaries, Bible dictionaries and other tools.

It is a composite of information that will help those in United States, Canada and some parts of Europe concerning the truth of the Bible, etc.

Personal Note

This book is for believers in our Lord Jesus Christ only!

This book can be for you, as an unbeliever also. I will tell you how.

Believe the Gospel, which is Jesus Christ dying for your sins on the cross and God raising Him from the dead.

Romans 10:9 "That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved."

The word Lord means just what it says: He must be your Lord. But are you willing to make Jesus ruler of your life and put Him in your lifestyle? Saved means not to be separated from God in this life and not to be separated from God after death, to live forever with Jesus after death in heaven and not be separated from God in a burning lake of fire, known by many as hell. It also means that God will guide you and help you through all your problems and situations in this life and He will provide for most of your needs and some of your wants and God will be your Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. He will teach us how to be prosperous and how to live through poverty if necessary.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

This Is the Gospel

Romans 10:13 called on the Son of God Jesus Christ to save you.

1 Corinthian 2:2 Believe that He died for you and your sins on the cross.

Romans 10:9 Believe that God raised Him from the dead.

The Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1–4, read this.

2 Peter 3:9 "Repent means telling Jesus you want Him to be leader of your life and your lifestyle. To repent also means a change of mind concerning your will, which is a willingness to turn to God and follow Him and a willingness to turn from sin and selfishness."

Romans 10:17 "By faith if you believed this Gospel: Jesus has come into your life and your lifestyle and forgiven all your sins. You have eternal life with Him, and you will never lose your salvation (Faith is never dependent on feelings or feeling saved. Faith is always based on the fact of the Bible, the Word of God. Emotion may or may not be involved in your decision to believe in and follow Jesus Christ). All this happens by God’s grace—that is the only way we are saved."

Ephesians 2:8–9

Always Remember

It is only by God’s grace that we can believe and repent and be saved. Grace means God gives us his undeserved enabling power or unmerited favor to be what He wants us to be and do what He wants us to do. Grace is a free gift. He gives this grace to every human being, which is the power or ability to repent and believe the Gospel (even repentance is granted by God). He (Jesus) is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel (and to us), and forgiveness of sin (Acts 5:31). Remember the Gospel is Jesus Christ, His death for our sins and His resurrection. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8–9). Grace means this, but when you become a believer, you will discover that grace means much, much more.

Now that you have believed in our Lord Jesus Christ, this book is for you!

I urge you to buy my booklet God Is Love! Some Don’t Think So! (www.Amazon.Com). It gives a reason why we should believe regardless of the tragedies and injustices of life. It also gives us guidance through the Bible as to how to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, and it gives you a guideline as to how to witness and lead others to Jesus Christ, which is God’s greatest purpose He has for you and me. You need to ask God to help you find a Bible-believing church. Now go and tell someone what you have done.

What This Book Is All About and What This Book Is Not About!

I am writing this book to appease no one but our Lord Jesus. I expect some to take offense to what is in this book because it will show them that they have been preaching the wrong and perverted Gospel (or no Gospel) for years and that some of these believers have been deceived by Satan, directly or indirectly. It will take great humility for these believers and ministers to share the Gospel—the right Gospel. James says in chapter 4 verses 6–10, But He gives more grace. Therefore, He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. Ecclesiastes 7:2 says, It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. Also in Ecclesiastes 7:5, It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools. Proverbs 9:7–10 says, He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, and he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself. Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you: Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man and he will increase in learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. And in Proverbs 27:5–6, Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Lastly, in Proverbs 28:23, He who rebukes a man will find more favor afterward than he who flatters with the tongue.

I am your friend, and I love the body of Christ! I love the Gospel, and I love evangelism, this gift God has been bestowed upon me. I am humbled and appreciative of the calling of God to teach evangelism and write this book! Just as God called Paul to be an apostle, God has called me to be the bishop of evangelism!

This book is not about how you can become rich and famous or happy. But as a result of reading this book, you may or you may not become rich, famous, or happy. This book is not about fortifying the teachings of the rich or famous ministers across this world, if they are not preaching or teaching the truth concerning the Gospel. This book is not a book to fortify religious and traditional teaching of one’s church doctrine or the founder and pioneers of that denomination, if it contradicts the Word of God, the Bible, concerning the Gospel. This book is not to fortify healing ministries if they are not preaching or teaching the truth concerning the Gospel. There are many so-called Christian organizations that feed the hungry and have teaching and ministry conferences and do many wonderful works but do not share the Gospel or teach their followers to do so. So if the Gospel is not preached, they are only performing a social or religious service. All these ministry services I just mentioned are good and should be done but not at the expense of the Gospel, because service is not God’s priority. God’s priority is to preach the Gospel! All else is secondary or are used as vehicles to introduce the Gospel. Jesus often fed the hungry and healed the sick for the purpose of introducing Himself, who during that time was the embodiment of the Gospel, for He had not died or risen.

This book is not based on religious tradition or on personal religious experience or on opinions (mine’s or anyone else’s) or on human logic or reasoning. This book is based on the Word of God, the Bible, being rightly divided and rightly interpreted and rightly explained concerning the Gospel and evangelism!

I am not a Bible scholar of the likes of Dr. Tony Evans or Dr. John MacArthur or Ravi Zachariah or the late great Watchman Nee or J. Vernon McGee or Tom Skinner or Warren Wiersbe. I have learned from all of them and many others. But most of what I have learned was from God the Father, who has taught me more through my study and prayer and sharing of the Gospel almost daily. Because of this, He has given me a special anointing to teach evangelism through this book led by the Holy Spirit of God. I am called to be the bishop of evangelism.

This is a book to disciple every believer on the art of doing the work of an evangelist and teaching other believers to do the same (2 Timothy 2:1–2). And this book will help the gifted evangelists to sharpen their gift as they fulfill Ephesians 4:11–12 and 13–16, He gave some…evangelist for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ. This book will explain to you God’s word as to why we must tell others about the Jesus who died for us and rose from the dead. Obeying Acts 1:8, But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. The most endearing words in this passage is the phrase "Witnesses to Me or you shall be My witnesses. We are His Witnesses. God has chosen us all to share the Gospel. Hallelujah and hallelujah! Psalms 34:3 says, O magnify the lord with me, And let exalt His name together."

When I was saved I believed I was the Lord’s child and also His witness. I started almost on the first day I was saved on August 25, 1971, sharing what God had done to me and for me. The young man who led me to Christ told me to go tell others and ask them to believe the Gospel, so I thought it was a package deal. Accept Christ and go witness. So I thought I did not have a choice to whether I would share the Gospel or not. I actually thought it was a part of the Gospel. Sharing the Gospel is not a part of the Gospel message, just as any other command is not a part of the Gospel, whether that command is to love one another or be baptized. The Gospel stands alone! But what Robert told me worked, so just make sure after the Gospel is received, tell them to go tell!

The choice to witness was made on the day I believed the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. So working in US Steel and on the Gary Fire Department in Indiana, I began to witness and I was laughed at and talked about to my face and behind my back but that only made me read the Bible more and read every book on how to witness. One of my first converts was a young lady whom I led to Christ in August 9, 1972. I married her six months later, Willa Simmons.

The purpose of this book in a nutshell is to follow Jesus to fulfill His purpose.

In 1 Timothy 1:15, It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners… Matthew 19:10 says, For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. He did not come into the world in the first place to make us happy, wealthy with money, not depressed, with no problems, to give us power over our flesh, etc. Christ Jesus came in to the world to save sinners by His death and resurrection. Therefore, to be in the center of His will and to please Him, we must use His Gospel to lead sinners to Him. Now as a result of being saved and sharing the Gospel, we receive all kinds of gifts and blessing from the Lord. But remember that being happy and not depressed or wealthy are not God’s priorities, for Jesus was depressed at times and poor as He marched to the cross. I hope you get the point. We shall deal with this subject extensively in this book.

This is a book on what God is saying in His Word, the Bible, to every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ concerning the truth and power of the Gospel (Christ death for our sins and His resurrection from the dead) and how all humans must humble themselves repent and believe this Gospel by faith in order to be born again and how we as believers His church (the called-out ones) have a new king Jesus Christ and a new God the Father and we are a part of a new kingdom on earth. His body, the church, and we are commanded corporately and assigned individually to share Christ’s Gospel with His love and in the power of the Holy Spirit to as many people as possible the unsaved human race (His harvest) in the midst of opposition before we meet God at the judgment seat of Christ!

Luke 10:2 And He said to them, The harvest indeed is vast, great and plentiful but the workers are few; therefore, Pray (beseech) the Lord of the harvest that He would thrust out workers into His harvest.

Giving, worshiping/praying, reading/studying the Word, reading this book and other good books, obeying God, sharing His love to one another, tithing, working and making money, working to be wealthy, losing weight (exercising), or gaining weight/good eating habits/understanding the importance of supplements (minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, herbs, cleansing, etc.) for good health, time management—it all costs. No pain, no gain. It must cost us time and money and pain. Doing these things when it is convenient or not convenient. To be of ultimate value for ourselves—it costs.

To be a witness on earth also costs, for we have three enemies—the world, the flesh, and the devil—so there is pain for this gain. Hebrew 11:6 says, But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that comes to God must believe that he, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. To please God and to help our fellowman to manifest ultimate results in blessings here on earth and rewards in heaven, we must share the Gospel and at any cost! Some in our world may be tortured and some may die for sharing the Gospel. A better reward awaits them! (Hebrews 11:34–40).

In Luke 10:38–42 Mary is compared to Martha on what is priority to God, and in 1 Samuel 24 David said, I will do nothing for the Lord if it does not cost me. Jesus expresses denying onesself for Christ, and in the Gospel of Mark 8:34–38 and Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:11–21, we follow the ministry of reconciliation. Please read these passages before you go any further.

Acknowledgments

I give God all the glory for what He has done in my life; and I am thankful, grateful, and appreciative to evangelist/teacher Robert Rayburn, who my father introduced me to. Robert led me to Christ. I thank my parents, the late Bennie and Lovell Simmons, who prayed for me during my years of searching for meaning in life. I appreciate my wife Willa for her love, patience, and also for helping me with her excellent abilities in grammar and spelling. A special thanks to Elder Barber, who prayed to Christ for my late sister Marie to walk again after being crippled and by God’s grace the miracle happened. My unsaved father at that time witnessed the result of the healing after coming home late that night. In the same month Elder Barber prayed for me when I was an eight-year-old child, and God healed me of stomach ulcers. In that year my father was walking down a street and found a gospel track that quoted Matthew 11:28, Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Early that year one of the worst alcoholics in the city, my father’s longtime friend, the late great Elder Rufus Nelson, received Christ and hounded my dad to come to Jesus. I also thank God for evangelist Billy Graham for assisting in leading my father Bennie Simmons Sr. to Christ in his 1957 New York Crusade telecast. As my father heard the Gospel, which is Christ dying for our sins and God raising Him from the dead, he repented and by faith believed in Jesus Christ and became his personal Savior and Lord. Through those events my whole family eventually came to know Christ Jesus.

I also want to thank Dr. John Weborg, retired North Park Theological Seminary professor in Chicago, Illinois, for helping me in thinking through the formulation of this book; the late great John Wooden, former coach of the UCLA Bruins, for his life and books; and for the hundreds of writers, teachers, pastors, counselors, and evangelists.

A special thanks to the late great evangelist/teacher/community activist Tom Skinner, who helped me through the years to formulate the direction of my ministry. I also thank Darryl Curry and Kenneth White. I led both to Christ for teaching me how to use the computer and Darryl how to be salesman. A special thanks to Youth for Christ. They trained me in how to organize and to stay on the course in the work of evangelism and for my school the Moody Bible Institute that challenged me academically as to how to rightly divide the word of truth and to be discipline to the study of God’s Word. Moody taught me how the reading and study of the Word is inseparable from doing the work of evangelism. I thank that great apostle of China, the late Watchman Nee (reading his books deepen my walk with Jesus) and the late Dr. Stephen Olford from England. Listening to him when he came to the Moody Bible Institute and in his tapes gave a prophecy to me that I would be an inner-city minister.

I credit all the above for helping me share Christ almost on a weekly basis and to write this book.

I give God the Father; His Son Jesus Christ; and the Holy Spirit, my Helper, all the glory!

Introduction

This book in not written to just mature believers in America but for believers around the world, especially to those who for whatever reason are poor and persecuted and do not have the resources for their spiritual growth, so the tools, books, CDs, radio programming, Christians television stations are not available to them. These resources are not at hand to be used. Therefore, I included many subjects to give believers around the world the knowledge concerning God’s Word, the Bible, to help them be dependent on the Holy Spirit to be witnesses for Christ.

All the problems in the world are based on the human race’s rejection of Christ and His Gospel, the rejection of the Bible, or the Bible being misinterpreted because of personal, religious, social, political, economic, and racial biases based on greed, power, hate, murder, and pride while fulfilling their lust with sexual sins that resist what the Bible says about the male and female relationships. And there is a strong hatred for the poor and needy (Romans 1:1–32, 2 Timothy 3:1–17). Proverbs 30:14 says, There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and whose fangs are like knives, to devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among men. Racism is against God as seen in 1 John 3:10–24. They are also speaking against leaders in which God has allowed and chosen to lead in different parts of society. For example after the elections in America and George W. Bush and Donal Trump were elected President, Democrats and others talked about them with much disrespect and hatred. The same thing happened when Barack Obama was elected. Republicans and others talked about him with much disrespect and hatred. Racism was evident. God chooses leaders, whether Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon or Nero of Rome or the King of England in the 1700s. See these passages: Jeremiah 27:1–11; Daniel 2:19–23, 5, 21; Romans 13:1–7; Jude 8–10; 2 Peter 2:10–14. What makes these sins so horrible is that they are being practiced while people embrace their religion.

The world is in trouble, to say the least, and God is moving this world toward His final judgment. The book of Revelations chapters 6–22, the last book of the Bible, as well as other places in the Bible, describe the last days. Read the words of Jesus in Matthew 24, 25; Mark 13; Luke 21; Ezekiel 36–39; and many other passages of scriptures.

The world is in terrible trouble and many of our friends, neighbors, relatives, and enemies are not saved. And some of you have not shared the Gospel with anyone, and that is not good or beneficial when you and I stand before Jesus at the judgment seat of Christ.

The apostle Paul speaks of the last days and the conditions that will be prevalent:

2 Timothy 3:1–13 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds disapproved concerning the truth; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all as theirs also was. (See Exodus 7:6–13) But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all, the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Then in Luke 21:8–11, 20, 25–28:

And He (Jesus) said: Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, I am He (the Christ), and, the time has drawn near. Therefore do not go after them but when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately. (vs. 8–11)

Then He said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, and then know that its desolation is near. (vs. 20)

And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads because your redemption draws near. (vs. 25–28)

The question is, can anything be done to delay God’s hand of judgment on this earth? The question is, what can we do? The question is, is this world worth saving or should we just huddle together in our church building, in our denominations, conferences, and seminaries and wait until Jesus comes back and appease ourselves with so-called Christian TV telling us to bless God by giving money to TV ministers so we can be blessed for our own selfish reason, just for money, wealth, job promotions, houses, cars, land, etc? In Genesis 18 and 19 is the story of how God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for the sin of homosexuality and other sins (Ezekiel 16:48–50) and how Abraham pleaded with God not to destroy the cities because of the love he had for his nephew Lot who lived there. If Abraham could eventually find ten righteous people, God would not destroy the cities. Well, God could not find ten. Even Lot’s son-in-laws, who were told about God destroying the city, thought he was joking. And God did destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. But what did Lot do while he was in the city? Second Peter 2:6–8 says, And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds). I always wondered, Was Lot sharing his God with the people of that city or was he only complaining about their sins. Evidently, Lot did not share with the people, neither to his servants nor his family about the God, who delivered them in Genesis 19. I am sure Lot heard Melchizedek blessing: Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand (vs. 18–20). I believe Lot did not verbally share his faith. If this is true, then we must not fall into the same trap of being tormented by the evils of the world and doing nothing about it. Edmond Burke says, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." This book is how to prevent us from being a complaining Lot who probably never shared his faith even though he lived a holy, righteous life. We may be able to delay the judgment of God for a season on our nations or to slow down the curse and judgment that God may have placed on us already. All of us should read the book of Jonah in the Bible to see how God reversed the curse on that great city of Nineveh with a reluctant prophet Jonah. As a result God delayed His judgment for about one hundred years on Nineveh, for Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah. But in the book of Nahum, Nineveh, being the capital city of the ancient Assyrian Empire, and over a period of years reverted back to its cruelty and violence. God eventually destroyed that city and the nation.

So if we as believers in Christ love God by loving people and sharing Christ’s Gospel, God may delay judgment on our cities, towns, state, and our nations?

This book has several basic or general topics expressed in the titles:

One is concerned with establishing what the Gospel is and how all believers in Christ, the saints, must go into God’s world sharing the Gospel of Christ.

Secondly, this book is concerned with Satan going out to defeat what the Gospel is by any means necessary and how we can defeat his efforts.

Thirdly, it is to equip and give every believer in Christ everything we need to do the work of an evangelist every day, anytime, anywhere by the leading of the Holy Spirit. We will find out that there are many things to learn from the Bible concerning sharing the Jesus who saved us, and we will learn that there is something we all can do concerning sharing the Gospel, whether a person is a child or an elderly person and or a person in a nursing home and that person can pray, which is an important task. God has a daily or weekly or monthly assignment for all of us. There is almost no age or health limitation that will hinder us in fulfilling our individual God-given assignments to share the Gospel and/or to pray.

Fourthly, there are special blessings for those who obey and share Christ and teach others to do the same.

I resigned from the fire department in 1974 after three and one half years of service to go to Bible College Moody Bible Institute and worked for Youth for Christ Campus Life Clubs. At that time my wife and I lived in the worst crime-ridden area in Gary, Indiana, and our most effective ministry was in that area. As we ministered, God gave us a beautiful home in the city and he has allowed me to travel around the world, ministering for Christ, Asia, Africa, and Europe and in almost every major city in the USA. I wrote a book tailor-made for people who have lost love ones, wealth, and power because of unfortunate circumstances, whether caused by evil people or bad weather. The book is also tailor-made for the prisons in the USA and around the world.

All through the Bible, it teaches that God keeps His covenants with us. The greatest promise or covenant was that He saved us who believed in Him and His Gospel. But the question is, do we keep our covenant with Him? You see, as soon as we are saved by His Gospel, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise (Ephesians 1:13). Our covenant with God is found in Acts 1:8, But you shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and you shall be witnesses unto me… And even though God keeps His covenant with us, most believers have broken their covenant with Him. Our Lord Jesus, I believe, is sad and mad with all who refuse to share His Gospel by faith; for we have broken our covenant with our precious Lord. Hopefully this book will help us bless the Lord (keep our promise to Him) who has blessed us (kept his promises to us).

There are not many Christians in the world sharing their Jesus and His Gospel. Most do not keep the covenant they made with God. It is said that 95 percent of believers in Jesus Christ have never led anyone to Christ outside the four walls of the church building. And that 81 percent never have shared their Jesus who died for them to anyone at all. We all should be on our knees crying because the very thing that brings our Lord Jesus joy and fulfills His purpose on earth we make excuses not to do, which is sharing the very Lord that saved us by His great resurrection.

We say things like I don’t have that gift or my church has witnessing teams and because I belong to that church and pray for them, I will get rewards from the Lord because I’m a part of that church and many other excuses that we will touch on in this book. The reason I say that each one of us must witness is because when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, we will not stand as a group or denomination but as individuals who had a responsibility to witness and follow Christ and His Word, the Bible, concerning the Gospel of Christ. Second Corinthians 5:10 says, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

If Jesus was still on this earth, He would be crying because many believers are doing many things for God except sharing Jesus, who died for them. Jesus shows sadness three times in the Gospels. Jesus cried? Read all of John 11, but in verse 35 it says, "Jesus wept. He wept because they did not believe. Mark 14:32–34 related, Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane, and He said to His disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ And He took Peter, James, and John with Him. And He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.’ Hebrews 5:7–8 says, Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet he learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him." Jesus did all this for us so at the least we can witness for our Lord Jesus. Luke 19:41–44 states,

"Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you and surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

He is weeping now, I believe. We need to weep over and pray for the sinners and share the Jesus we love with the human race. This book shows us how to have the heart and the compassion of Christ to weep for the people in our nations, cities, towns, villages, and farm areas and share the Gospel!

This book hopefully will eliminate all the reasons and excuses that believers have for not sharing the Gospel: fear, misgivings, apathy, ignorance, arrogance, laziness, busyness, unbelief, and not believing that in the midst of persecution that God will bless his people. This book will hopefully eliminate all excuses, excuses like that is not my gift or any other reasons we may have as children of God. This book will change believers and their leaders, who are the saints of God, into productive witnesses for Christ, and we will see the church around the world grow like never before. Benny Hinn says that evangelism is the forerunner to revival. And that I believe if it is tied with love for one another (John 13:34–35) and love for sinners (Luke 6:27–36) and the unity of the saints (John 17:21–23). Evangelism will lead to revival.

We must always keep this in mind: all things done for Christ must be done by depending on the leading and power of the Holy Spirit, through the word of God as we seek to fulfill his will.

The Explanation of the Two Titles

Explanation of the Main Title: Penetrating God’s World with the Gospel of Christ

Penetrating means fulfilling another space or making a difference.

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me (or My witnesses) in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).

Shouting, ‘These are the men that have turned the world upside down are come here also.’ (Acts 17:6b) That world is all around us.

God’s World (everywhere people are). Psalm 24: says, The earth is the lord’s and all its fullness, the world and those who live in it. There are three meanings for the word world in the Bible:

There is the world of earth trees, mountains, water, and air; and there is the world of people. Psalms 24:1 says, The earth is the lord’s and all its fullness thereof; the world and they who dwell therein.

There is the world of humans. John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. The word world in this verse means the world of the human race, people.

And then you have the world systems: politics, education, medical/medicine, religion, entertainment, courts, media, etc. Satan is the god of this world, meaning systems or the order of things. First John 2:15–17 says, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him… John 7:7 states, The world cannot hate you; but me it hates, because I testify of it, that its works are evil. John 12:31 says, Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. John 14:30 says, I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and in Me he has nothing. Satan is the ruler of the world system (John 17:14–18). Please read.

With the Gospel of Christ: Jesus Christ, His death for our sins on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead. First Corinthians 15:1–4 says, Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the Gospel, which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according the scriptures and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures. That is the Gospel. It stands alone. How to receive the Gospel, we will share extensively in this book.

The Lord wants us to penetrate His world with His Gospel. Acts 1:8 says, Be witnesses to Me (or for Me or be My witness)… god loves us and believes in us and endears us and depends on us so much that he places every believer on His witnessing team. You may say, I cannot go to another nation to be his witness, but God does not expect all of us to be professional foreign missionaries, which is a special calling. But there are people we can all witness to, from our family members to our neighbors, to our enemies, to our communities, to people who call us over the phone trying to sell us a service or product or trying to collect a bill, to people in our workplaces. We can witness as we shop in malls, market places, on the streets or as we exercise at the gym or run in the park or on the beaches across the sandhills or as we go to and from soccer games, basketball games, cricket games, USA football or baseball games, ski, skate, golf tournaments, tennis matches, or wherever we go when we travel to villages, jungles, rural farm areas, cities, states, across our country, even around the God’s world conducting business. We are called to penetrate this worldly system, to have an effect throughout the places we go, and to affect the world deeply and positively by spreading His Gospel. We are salt and light. Matthew 5:13–16 states,

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Most believers in Christ shine their light in the noonday sun where it cannot be seen and not in the dark places of the world. They think or feel when God blesses them at their conferences their light is shining as they learn new truths. As we huddle together as believers, we may think our light is shining bright, well, that is true. But the problem is that at noon it cannot affect the darkness, the darkness in the business world or in the world of false religion or the world of sports and entertainment and the darkness that is in the streets of our cities or the darkness in our own families. There is darkness everywhere if we do not release verbally the light of the Gospel of Christ. Our light has no effect, no impact, on the darkness of this world. The most important way to honor and glorify our lord and show our light and our good works is to love each other and the human race, and we can’t love the human race if we do not share Jesus, for there are many people and religions that are very kind to people but and do tremendous works of goodwill. But what distinguishes us is our telling people about Christ and Him dying for our sins and God raising Him from the dead and how by faith they must repent (willing to turn from sin and follow Him). And the first way to glorify our Father in heaven is to share the Jesus who saved us.

Let’s not be pepper or pepper spray but salt. Let’s not hide our Gospel, keeping this light under a bushel, therefore keeping it from the dark places of the world. I repeat, we must understand that light is ineffective shining in the noonday sun and that allowing our light to only shine in the church huddles of this world is ineffective. The light of the Gospel must shine in the dark places of our world. Sharing the Gospel with one another and not penetrating His Gospel in God’s world is sin before the Godhead. Matthew 5:13–16 says,

You are the salt of the earth but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world; a city that is set on the hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

And the greatest work is the work of sharing His Gospel with unbelieving world.

In the first half of the 1900s, Watchmen Nee and John Sung in China penetrated their nation with the Gospel of Christ. During that time, through evangelism and establishing, they established over five hundred churches and leading millions to Christ, which has continued to affect that nation today, just as Billy Sunday, D. L. Moody, and Billy Graham, Tom Skinner, John Perkins, Dr. E. V. Hill, and Dr. Stephen Olford, Tony Evans, and Gardener C. Taylor; just as para-church ministries such as Youth for Christ, Campus Crusades, Young life, Child Evangelism, Businessmen and Women for Christ and others; just as Benny Hinn, Oral Roberts, Kenneth Copeland, South Korea’s David Yonggi Cho, Billy Kim, Luis Palau in South America and England, Fisto Cavengee, Bishop Tutu in Africa and Sam Atimo in Kenya, John Sung and Watchman Nee from China, Robert Shuler, W. A. Chriswell, Charles Blake, Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson in the USA, Marilyn Laszlo in New Guinea who spent twenty-three years in one tribe to bring almost the whole village to Christ. We could name many more: John Wesley, John Knox of England, and Evan Roberts of Wales, John and Lorella Rouster of Every Child Ministries in the Congo and Ghana, and many other known and unknown soldiers who preached the Gospel.

Second Corinthians 8:18 says, And we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches. He was the brother without a name to us, but God knows his name and he made a tremendous impact on the church of Christ in his time doing the work of an evangelist and teaching others how to do the same. There are many unnamed brothers and sisters who are sharing the Jesus they love, penetrating their world for Christ with the Gospel, making a difference. Christ knows your name. In fact He knows the number of the hairs on your head. You are valuable to Him. Unknown to us but not to God for they are faithful and He will reward you now and when we see Him and look in to those flaming eyes at the judgment seat of Christ. Matthew 10:29–33 states, Are two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows, therefore whoever confess Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

Over the centuries mission organizations and church denominational missions groups have been and are still penetrating God’s world with the Gospel, performing the work of the church. God has blessed me to be a gifted evangelist especially in one-on-one and small group witnessing. It is my goal and responsibility as an evangelist to show believers how to witness on a daily or weekly basis. Someone needs to