A Prayer to Become a Fisher of Men

Evangelizing seems to be easier for some than for others. Maybe you’ve even marveled at those who witness to everyone they come across as if it were no big deal, but you find it difficult to share even with those closest to you.

Some people try to back out of witnessing by claiming, “That’s not my gifting.” But the truth is—evangelism isn’t a gifting, it’s a calling and mandate for every believer.

Much of what God calls us to do requires His supernatural help. And this is no different!

If you’re ready to step out of the boat and do what Jesus called you to do, here is a prayer to become a fisher of men you can pray in faith.

Father, in the Name of Jesus, I thank You for saving me and setting me free from sin, death, hell and the curse. I thank You that I am saved, delivered, healed and set up for victory in every area of my life. Lord, I do not desire to keep this unmerited blessing to myself. I want to share the gift of Jesus with the world.

Father, You have called me to go into all the world and preach the good news of Jesus Christ. I want to honor and obey that call. So, right now in the Name of Jesus, I declare that I am a fisher of men. I am not intimidated by rejection, persecution or ridicule. I am strong in the Lord and the power of Your might. I have the mind of Christ, and I can share my testimony, without fear, with others.

I ask that You help me to be bold and courageous in sharing my faith. I ask that You make my tongue the pen of a ready writer—that You would give me the perfect words to speak to each individual. God, You know their hearts better than even they do, and You can speak right to the tender places of their spirit. I ask that You do this through me and that I would see the fruit of my labor.

Thank You for calling me to be a laborer in this precious harvest. I call in a harvest of new believers now, in Jesus’ Name!

Amen.

When you pray this prayer to become a fisher of men, believe you receive the anointing to do so! Once you start sharing your faith, you won’t be able to stop. Remember—don’t base your results on the initial reactions of people. You are planting the Word in their hearts, and the Word of God never returns void!

Scriptures: Psalm 45:1; Matthew 9:37; Mark 16:15; Luke 12:12; Galatians 3:13; 1 Corinthians 2:16

Avoid Family Drama This Christmas

 

I’m sure you’ll be getting together with family this Christmas holiday. You might even anxious about a certain family member and all the family drama.  You’re family is important to you, and it’s important to God. In this video, I share a story about our Uncle Jimmy and his poor behavior and attitude about the gospel at family celebrations.  We all have relatives who do not know the Lord.  The devil’s No. 1 priority is to convince you that your relative will never accept Jesus as their Savior. Watch to find out how to effectively share your faith with those you love most…and give them a gift that lasts for eternity.

 

Overcoming Addictions

Since the times of the Ancient Egyptians man has been guided home, safely, by light houses. You see a lighthouse doesn’t just mark a dangerous coastline, but it shows where there is safe entry into the harbor. The light doesn’t eliminate the danger. Rather,  it makes the danger ineffective by showing the traveler the safe path.

Think about what would happen if the captain of a boat was in a dense fog at night and instead of trying to look for the lighthouse, he tried to look for the danger instead. What do you think would happen? He would crash. Obviously this sounds ridiculous! Why would anyone look for a rocky coastline underwater, at night, in a fog?

Well, as crazy as that sounds, we do this every day in our lives – specifically with addictions.  We begin down a familiar path. We know the path is littered with traps. The traps are the same every time. But instead of trying to look for the light, we try and stare at the trap – the addiction – and hope by seeing it we can avoid it.

The truth is, as long as you stare at the problems in your life that keep you bound, they will always own you. God made us to be ruled by the Spirit, but when man first sinned we became in bondage to our senses. Suddenly, everything we learned came from what we could feel, see, taste or hear. But when Jesus died on the cross, He gave us back our authority over our senses.

The second that you become a Christian, you no longer have to be a slave to any addictions. But just like the captain of that boat has to choose to follow the lighthouse safely home, so do we.

Romans 6:1-3 says “Well then, should we keep sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?” Why would you want to stay chained to a sin that Jesus paid the price to free you from? We have all dealt with some kind of addiction in our lives. I know how powerful they can feel. It doesn’t matter the addiction, it feels like you can’t escape no matter what you do.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” Do not allow the devil to convince you that your addiction is too strong for you to defeat. Do not allow shame to make you give up and no longer fight to be free.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says “We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. When you accepted Jesus as your Savior, He gave you His authority. He gave you His name to use to overcome the devil and his addictions.

Philippians 2:10 says “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in the heaven and on earth and under the earth.” If an addiction has taken control of your life, don’t stare at the problem and obsess over how to escape from its hold. Stare at Jesus. Keep confessing the Word and His Holy name over your life.

Psalm 119:105 says “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Following this path is a journey, just like this bridge I’ve been walking on. Sometimes you may stumble along the way. But whatever happens, pick yourself back up, forget about whatever tripped you up and follow his light safely home.

Should You Turn Your Light On This Halloween?

Whether or not to participate in Halloween activities has been a big debate among Christians. As believers, we have nothing to fear when the Holy Spirit is our guide. What does He have to say about this issue?

The Bible tells us not to “copy the behavior and customs of this world” (Romans 12:2, New Living Translation). But this verse should not be an excuse for us to shut the door on the world. We also need to let our light shine—especially on the darkest day of the year! My family learned this important lesson a long time ago.

For years my wife, Kim, and I would not turn on our porch light at Halloween. When persistent trick-or-treaters knocked on our door anyway, our family ignored them. We would not let our girls carve pumpkins or color Halloween artwork at school or go trick-or-treating.

Then, one year, the Lord spoke this scripture to our family: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16, New King James Version). We realized that God wanted us to reach out to our neighbors on Halloween night. So we changed our MO! We bought good candy, not the cheap stuff—you know, the kind that has bubble gum in it that loses its flavor as soon as you put it in your mouth. We got chocolate bars! And we began to minister the love of God to those who were participating in Halloween. We handed out candy to our neighborhood kids, gave them tracts, and asked them if we could pray with them about anything.

Halloween is a great time for us to get to know our neighbors. Streets are packed with parents and children. Paul said it this way: “When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:22–23, NLT).

As Christians, we walk every day in the burden-removing, yoke-destroying power of God (see Isaiah 10:27). If we close our door on our neighbors at Halloween, if we “turn our lights off,” we miss a big opportunity to remove burdens and destroy yokes from other people’s lives.

My family’s outreach began with just us. Later, we started taking friends with us to the streets of our community to share the love of Christ at Halloween. Over time, the ministry grew.

One church in Athens, Ohio, found out about what we were doing on Halloween. They invited me and my ministry team to come minister at the nation’s largest Halloween block party, which takes place in their city every year. Annually, this block party draws about 80,000 college-age kids, who come out to drink and party on Halloween night. In 2009, we started taking teams to the event to share the gospel with young people. Since then, thousands have received Jesus as Lord and Savior on the darkest day of the year.

Another church, this one in Roscoe, Illinois, whose pastor is a friend of mine, uses Halloween as their biggest outreach of the year. They bring carnival rides in and provide free popcorn, hot dogs and cotton candy. They clear out their sanctuary and set up games for the kids, and then they present a gospel skit. Every year at least 5,000 people attend this event. A lot of people in the community don’t even offer candy for trick-or-treating—they send people to my friend’s church instead!

I’m not saying that we should dress up as the devil and participate in dark activities. We should dress normally when we minister on Halloween night. When people see us loving, rather than judging the people who go to haunted houses or go trick-or-treating, the Bible says they will begin to glorify the heavenly Father. We should be a light in the darkness.

The Bible says that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). When we begin to look like love, talk like love and act like love, God who is love will manifest Himself through us, spreading His light to a lost and dying world. I pray that this Halloween you will open up your door and turn on your light to harvest souls for God’s kingdom.

Click here for more helpful information about Halloween. http://bit.ly/1LCo4Uj

 

© 1997 – 2017 Eagle Mountain International Church Inc. Aka Kenneth Copeland Ministries. All Rights Reserved.

She’s A Hard One

If I told you right now to take out your cell phone and scroll down the contacts would there be someone there that needed Jesus? If not we should be perusing a friendship with people who do not know Jesus. You might say, “Riley I’m not called to that type of ministry. I don’t have the gift of evangelism. I give to ministries that minister to the lost.” That’s an excuse that most Christians and churches use to cover up the truth of them not wanting to get out of their Christian bubble and minister to the lost in the real world. It’s kinda like that movie the Truman show. We are caught up in our perfect little Christian world. With never a grasp on the real world. Someone once said, “they’re to spiritual for earthly good.”

Jesus gave us a mandate to go into all the world to reach out to everyone. A pastor told me one time, “Riley, I never can find someone who doesn’t know Jesus.” They said they would ask people, (like most do) “Do you know Jesus?” And the response she would always get was “Sure, I know Jesus.” Then they would assume after that response they were a Christian and say, “God Bless You” and then leave the person. That is not evangelism at all. We are called to share the Good News. Do you know Jesus isn’t good news. 

Many people know about Jesus but have never had a personal relationship with him. That’s why we must spend a little more time to find out where they’re at and not just assume they are a Christian. 

Jesus was a friend of notorious sinners the bible says they came to hear him speak and he even ate with them. (Luke 15:1-2 NLT) If Jesus was here today he would not be at a believer’s convention, he’d be hanging out with sinners winning the lost. And if you are following him you would be hanging out with sinners winning the lost. I was at a church in Maine and actually had the people in the congregation to pull out their cell phones and to this day do it often. She scrolled down her contacts and saw a lady who wasn’t saved and she thought “she’s a hard one, I’m not calling her we’ve been working on her for years.” Then she kept scrolling. That very second the same lady she commented on called her! She knew this was The Lord so after the service she went to a Sunday school room and called the lady. She told her she loved her and knew she needed to ask her if for some reason she died would she be confident she would be in heaven. The lady answered no she wasn’t sure so she shared the Romans scriptures and then led her in a prayer to receive Jesus! God’s word will not return void! Let’s all spend a little more time with those around us. Let’s stop working on ’em and love on them. 

I pray today you’ll make a new friend to add to your contact list so you can reach out to them and love them in to a relationship with your Heavenly Father.

 

 

Turn Your Light on at Halloween

Whether or not to participate in Halloween activities has been a big debate among the members of the Body of Christ. As believers, we have nothing to fear when the Holy Spirit is our guide. What does He have to say about this issue?

The Bible tells us not to “copy the behavior and customs of this world” (Romans 12:2, New Living Translation). But this verse should not be an excuse for us to shut the door on the world. We also need to let our light shine, as my family and I learned a long time ago—especially on the darkest day of the year!

For years my wife, Kim, and I would not turn on our porch light at Halloween. When persistent trick-or-treaters knocked on our door anyway, our family ignored them. We would not let our girls carve pumpkins or color Halloween artwork at school or go trick-or-treating.

Then one year the Lord spoke this scripture to our family: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16, New King James Version). We realized that God wanted us to reach out to our neighbors on Halloween night. So we changed our MO! We bought good candy, not the cheap stuff—you know, the kind that has bubble gum in it that loses its flavor as soon as you put it in your mouth. We got chocolate bars! And we began to minister the love of God to those who were participating in Halloween. We handed out candy to our neighborhood kids, gave them tracts, and asked them if we could pray with them about anything.

Halloween is a great time for us to get to know our neighbors. Streets are packed with parents and children. Paul said it this way: “When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:22–23, NLT).

As Christians, we walk every day in the burden-removing, yoke-destroying power of God (see Isaiah 10:27). If we close our door on our neighbors at Halloween, if we “turn our lights off,” we miss a big opportunity to remove burdens and destroy yokes from other people’s lives.

My family’s outreach began with just us. Later we started taking friends out with us onto the streets in our community to share the love of Christ at Halloween, and over time the ministry grew.

One church in Athens, Ohio, found out about what we were doing and invited me and my ministry team to come minister at the nation’s largest Halloween block party, which takes place in their city every year. This block party draws about 80,000 college-age kids, who come every year to drink and party on Halloween night. In 2009 we started taking teams to the event to share the gospel with young people, and since then thousands have received Jesus as Lord and Savior on the darkest day of the year.

Another church, this one in Roscoe, Illinois, whose pastor is a friend of mine, uses Halloween as their biggest outreach of the year. They bring carnival rides in and provide free popcorn, hot dogs and cotton candy. They clear out their sanctuary and set up games for the kids, and then they present a gospel skit. Every year at least 5,000 people attend this event. A lot of people in the community don’t even offer candy for trick-or-treating—they send people to my friend’s church instead!

I’m not saying that we should dress up as the devil and participate in dark activities. We should dress normally when we minister on Halloween night. When people see us loving, rather than judging the people who go to haunted houses or go trick-or-treating, the Bible says they will begin to glorify the heavenly Father. We should be a light in the darkness.

The Bible says that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). When we begin to look like love, talk like love and act like love, God who is love will manifest Himself through us, spreading His light to a lost and dying world. I pray that this Halloween you will open up your door and turn on your light to harvest souls for God’s kingdom.

Watch video! CLICK HERE

Obedience Brings Blessing

Chad went to our evangelism training one Friday night but was unable to go with our team on the next day’s Saturday outreach. But God still had outreach plans for Chad!

As Chad drove through the city on Saturday, he saw a man sitting on the side of the road. As he passed the man, the Lord asked him if he was going to put into practice what he had learned at the evangelism training the night before. Chad was a little nervous, because this was the first time he’d ever tried to lead anyone to Christ. But he immediately turned his vehicle around, parked, and got out to talk to the man.

This man had a case of beer by his side and a can of beer in his hand. Chad ministered to him using our pocket reference card, and the gentleman prayed to receive Jesus! As he prayed, tears began to roll down the man’s cheek. He was so thankful that Chad had stopped what he was doing to minister to him.

Then, unexpectedly, the man continued to give Chad thanks. With tears still in his eyes, he reached to shake Chad’s hand. “I felt something in his hand,” Chad told me “and I knew exactly what it was.” When Chad opened his hand, he saw a hundred-dollar bill. Chad didn’t want to receive it because he hadn’t reached out to the man in the hopes of being rewarded, but the man insisted because he was so thankful for what the Lord had just done for him. So Chad received the blessing from the gentleman.

When Jesus needed money to pay His tax, he told Peter to go fishing, and Peter found the tax money both for Jesus and for himself in the mouth of the fish he caught. Chad and his family really needed that hundred-dollar bill. The Lord knew that, and basically, He had told Chad to “go fishing.”

Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19, KJV). The Lord needed Chad to minister the good news to this man sitting at the side of the road. Chad was obedient to hear from the Lord. He acted on the word of God to him, and he found a blessing on the other side of his obedience. The Bible says, “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land” (Isa. 1:19, NKJV), and, “He who reaps receives wages” (John 4:36, NKJV). I’m sure Chad and his family ate well that Saturday night! There is always a blessing on the other side of our obedience.

I’m so thankful there is another name written in heaven! All of heaven is rejoicing! I pray today that you will be obedient to the Lord’s prompting when He wants you to minister to the lost. You can do it! If God is for you, no man can be against you!

Hearing God’s Voice to Win Souls

 

Learning to listen to the Spirit of God in the area of leading someone to Jesus comes from meditation on and study of God’s Word. When we choose to obey God in the slightest things, it brings us to maturity in the Lord.

God told Joshua to never stop speaking about the Word of God. He told him to recite it day and night so that he could carefully obey everything written in it. That is what made Joshua accomplish his objectives and made him successful (see Josh. 1:8). Jesus Himself said, “I only do what I see My Father do, and I only say what I hear My Father say” (see John 5:19; 8:28).

If we lack knowledge of what God says to do, it is difficult for us to know when the Spirit of God is leading us to a person. The Spirit of God will never lead us in opposition to God’s written Word. The Bible says that it is God’s will for all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (see 1 Tim. 2:4), so we know that God wants us to share the gospel with others.

When you’re not sure whether the Holy Spirit is leading you to minister to someone, rely on the peace in your heart. The Bible says, “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace” (1 Cor. 14:33, kjv). Before you go out to share your faith, ask the Lord where He wants you to go, and then, when you get there, ask Him who He wants you to talk to. It’s really simple. And it takes the pressure off us! God shows us exactly where to go and what to do.

On one of our evangelistic outreaches, we were in a Walmart. As we were getting ready to leave, one of the ladies said to the Lord, “Lord, if You’re done, I’m done, but if You’re not done here, show me what else You want me to do.” Right then she heard the Lord say, “There will be one more girl your age for you to talk to, and she’ll be wearing a pink shirt.” Almost immediately this woman noticed a lady her age wearing a pink shirt. She spoke with the lady using our pocket reference card—and prayed with her to receive Jesus!

Notice that this woman did three things:

1. She waited for peace in her heart—she let the Word of God in her heart “act as umpire” (Col. 3:15, amp).
2. She talked to the Lord—she asked God, “Show me what to do,” knowing that it was not about her.
3. She obeyed exactly what the Lord showed her to do.

It is so simple to hear God’s voice and then to obey it. We need to realize that we are not the ones who bring about salvation in others. The Holy Spirit leads, guides, and directs us as to where we should go, whom we should talk to, and what we should say.

Jesus said, “I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say” (John 12:49–50, nlt).

I pray that you’ll be open today to the Holy Spirit’s prompting and that you will obey what He tells you, knowing that His words spoken through you will lead someone to eternal life.

Share your faith! FREE resources!

This season is sure to open doors for you to share your faith…and I’m going to help make it EASY for you with a bunch of FREE resources you can download today!

First, grab this handy card with prompts for breaking the ice about your faith, scriptures you can share, and three simple sentences anyone can pray to make Jesus their Lord.

Next, download these two tracts. The first one is another great help when leading someone to Christ, and the second is perfect to leave with them afterward, so they know what to do next.

Then, I want to sow two of my books into your life. The first will stir your faith for soul-winning. In the second, I show you how to maximize the effectiveness of your witness. They’re both quick reads, and—yes!—feel free to share them with others.

Finally, if you want more, right now you can get both of my full-length books for the price of one! These books contain not only my heart on sharing your faith and some great Bible studies on evangelism, but they also include the practical tools you need to take the Good News to the world.Order now!

I hope you download, enjoy and USE all these powerful resources this season. Together, we’ll be bringing in a HUGE harvest of souls!

Increasing His Kingdom,

Riley Stephenson

Minister of Evangelism

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

P.S.  Remember kcm.org/next, too! It’s a great resource website with videos and more for sharing your faith, and for following up with those whom you minister to.

Don’t wait—these downloads will only be available for a little while. And the special offer on my books will only last until May 15, 2014. Get them all now!

 

Guaranteed to Succeed

What if I told you that if you’d follow one simple rule, you’d be guaranteed to succeed?

In 1998 the Lord gave me a key to success. He told me to look at both Matthew 6:33 and Luke 19:10 in the Amplified Version. Here is what the two verses say:

But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. (Matt. 6:33)

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)

Looking at these two scriptures together opened my eyes to something: Seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33) includes seeking and saving the lost (Luke 19:10). When we win the lost, God will give us the things we need as well.

In other words, if we need money or provision, we should win the lost—and God will meet our needs.

Wow, Riley, is it that simple? Yes, my friend, it is. When we make it our priority to seek and save the lost, God will give us everything we need to get the job done.

How does it work?

First, if we are going to win the lost, we must be followers of Jesus. Jesus told His disciples, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19, nkjv).

Jesus had to show the disciples what following means. One morning a crowd was pressing in on Jesus (see Luke 5:1–11). Jesus noticed Peter’s empty boat, so He stepped into it—without asking Peter if He could—so that He could teach the people without being crushed. Peter went along with this arrangement, and when he did, his boat became a tool for the preaching of the gospel.

Then, after Jesus used Peter’s boat to preach, He told Peter to go fishing. Peter and the others launched his boat, even though they were tired. They had already fished all night and caught nothing.

What was Jesus trying to show these guys? He was teaching them that following Him means going where He goes, doing what He does, saying what He says. If we are going to seek and save the lost, we have to follow Jesus and be willing to do anything He asks us.

Second, if we want to receive God’s provision, we must allow God to use our resources. Proverbs 19:17 says, “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—and He will repay you!”

Peter let Jesus use his boat to preach the gospel, and Jesus repaid Peter far beyond all he could ever ask or think. When the disciples gave their time and strength and headed out for one more round of fishing, they caught a boat-sinking load of fish!

Much later, after Peter had followed Jesus for many months, the same principle was at work. When Peter needed money to pay a tax, Jesus told him, “Go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first; and when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money: take that and give it to them for Me and you” (Matt. 17:27, nkjv).

In John 4:36 Jesus said, “The harvesters are paid good wages” (nlt). What kind of wages was He talking about? Well, the answer is twofold. Jesus went on to say that the fruit they would harvest is people brought to eternal life. Glory to God! But did Peter and the others receive only a spiritual wage from that boat-sinking catch they made? No! They turned that catch into provision for mission. They used it to become fishers of men. Where God guides, He provides.

A pastor friend of mine recently told me, “Riley, your breakthrough might be in the mouth of the next fish you catch.” Wow! I’d say it’s time to fish!

When you follow Jesus and let Him use your resources to win the lost—you are guaranteed to succeed!