I received the following email this week:
“We as a society tend to pray for other good people. We pray for sick family and friends. We pray for our country. I rarely if ever pray for people like Hillary Clinton and/or George Soros. I have to ask myself am I being tested to see if I am a true Christian? Does Jesus want these people saved and are they in need of prayer to be saved?”
I can understand this reader’s frustration as I have similar feelings sometimes and it is not limited to the aforementioned. Having been involved with prison ministry for decades I often go in prison to offer my testimony to people who have committed horrendous crimes.
Once I went to a prison in Texas and was assigned the Special Unit. This is the facility where sexual predators are housed. For their own protection they are kept out of the general population because other inmates will kill them because of the nature of their crimes. They have committed child molestation and even raped one-year old kids, beaten their wives and other women, and committed crimes against young boys and girls that are unspeakable.
I could not believe my bad luck the last time I went to Huntsville Texas on a crusade and was assigned to one of those facilities. I was discussing this with some of the other speakers and we decided to pray about it before we went in. We held hands together in the parking lot and prayed for the Holy Spirit to take over and He did. We went in and witnessed to those men as though they had never committed a crime and when we are done hundreds of them made a commitment to receive Christ. What our flesh could not bring itself to do, the holy Spirit did for us.
What we discovered confirmed what the Bible states in Mark 10:27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
Of course God wants these people saved. He loves them with all of His heart. In Romans 3:23 the Bible tells us that “we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”. In Romans 5:8 Jesus said that He demonstrated that love for us in this: “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. In Revelation 3:20 He said, “I stand at the door and knock, if ANYONE hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to Him”.2 Peter 3:9 the Apostle Peter said: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting ANYONE to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
The bottom line is that we are all sinners and in no position to judge anyone; that is God’s job, (remember the parable about the adulteress caught in the act of adultery and the angry mob that wanted to stone her to death? Jesus told them that he who is without sin cast the first stone. They all dropped their stones and left. Had I been there I would have left FIRST.
Our task is to pray for those who have fallen victim to sin, preach the Gospel, and disciple the nations. No one is to be excluded regardless of how we might revile what they do or have done. Love the sinner, but hate the sin.
Remember our battle is not with flesh and blood, (those who Satan is using as his vessel to destroy mankind). Sincerely pray for these people to turn to Christ and to obey His laws . . . even if you have to pray in your prayer language, (tongues) in order to do so . . .
Eph. 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground,
Have a great weekend and go to Honey Lake Church this Sunday. Speaking of Honey Lake our second Sunday service will be awesome coming up on November 14th. My good friend Larry Rowe will be offering his hilariously funny life story and heart-warming call to redemption. And he can sing like an angel. I’ll be there and hope to see you as well!
October 28 2016 – Click here to listen