Hidden - 40 Pack

A true story, going to the Highways and Hedges with the love of God as commanded in Luke 14:23.
 
HIDDEN
The Bible says, “If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost” (2 Corinthians 4:3). A lost person is someone who has never received the gift of salvation through the love and sacrifice of the Son of God (See John 3:16).
Wow! What a powerful statement: If (in the event that) our (a reference to apostle Paul's own conversion and those that are in Christ) gospel (the story of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ) be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.”
When I look back on my own life, one lived without Christ Jesus in it, I cannot really tell you how I survived the years that I lived before my salvation experience. I do know that they were not good ones, just the opposite. You can find my story and million others in the words of that old hymn Amazing Grace, written in 1772 by John Newton: “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch (unfortunate, miserable being, unhappy person, sufferer, outcast, castoff, misfit, homeless person, vagabond, hobo, derelict, waif) like me.  I once was lost, but now I'm found; was blind, but now I see.”
I believe we all have known someone described as a wretch in our lifetime. I find, as we travel our highways and walk the blocks of the cities of our great country, that they (the wretched) are all around us. They are holding signs asking for handouts (something given free).
We find that asking for handouts is nothing new. In the Word of God (Bible) in Acts 3:2-6, we have two Apostles, Peter and John, walking into the temple at prayer time and finding a lame man who is asking for a handout (alms). Peter said, “Look on us ... Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have, I give thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” The lame man expecting treasures of the world, received from the bounty of heaven.
We as Christians need to be on the front lines of telling the lost about Jesus. We carry the seal of the God of heaven (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30), and we carry the love of God in our hearts. And, we have been commissioned (entrusted) to take the good news of the gospel to a lost and dying world. Luke 14:23 declares, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” And in John 15:16, we have a command of Jesus, with a promise, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained (confer holy orders on, appoint) you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit (souls who accept Christ as Savior), and that your fruit should remain (that the effect of your labors would be permanent on mankind): that whatsoever ye shall ask (according to the will of God) of the Father in My name, He may give it you.”
Proverbs 11:30 proclaims, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he (generic, male or female) that winneth souls is wise.” Thus, the term “Soul Winner.”
Let's be clear, we do not have the power to save anyone from an eternity of total separation from God in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:15). It is by grace through faith, believing in the Son of God, that someone is saved (Ephesians 2:8-9).
But we can all be soul winners by taking the Word of truth, the gospel of salvation, to a lost and dying world. Jude 22 records these words, “and some have compassion, making a difference.”
Now let me share with you a true story of obedience, love, and compassion.
A follower of Christ went to visit her son in Los Angeles who is in the music industry in Hollywood CA. While visiting with him, she found that she had a lot extra time on her hands, due to the fact that her son worked late hours and also had his music to work on. So she spent a lot of her time sight-seeing and talking with people on the beaches and streets of southern California. She said to herself, “Why not share Jesus with someone who needs a ray of hope and a reason for living?” So she, with vigilance (keeping a careful watch), went to the highways and hedges to compel them to come in!  Little did she know that that very act of love and obedience to the Word of God would literally change her life.
Each new day would bring with it a blessing to both her and the one that would be receiving her small gift of cookies and walnuts. After the snack was given and received, she then proceeded to share with them the GOOD NEWS (gospel, story of Jesus) placed on the inside of a tri-fold leaflet, known as a tract. The front cover of the tract had the picture of a classic automobile (like the car on the title page of this tract), so it was a bit easier to use it as an ice breaker, giving her the opportunity to share with them the Savior of her soul, Jesus.  Each person that she spoke with had a different story, and not all were down and out, but all needed a friend with whom to share their story. As we walk in the Spirit, we will show the Fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meek-ness, and temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23). Isn't it great to hear about the Creator of Heaven and earth, moving a willing heart to receive a Heavenly Blessing that will ring out throughout eternity: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a Wretch like me. I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see.”
In conclusion, share the glorious gospel of Christ with those whose minds have been blinded by Satan, so that the light of God should shine on them forever and ever.
As 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 states, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world (Satan) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest (for fear that) the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine (give light) unto them.”  Amen.