The Most Useful Thing My Pastor Has Taught Me

Dilbert Terry said 'often what prevents us from having an overflowing testimony is not having the right priorities'. He said that referring to this verse:

And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them

asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch

with me one hour?

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation:

the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Matthew 26:40&41

When we have the right priorities and God is in His proper place in our lives, we will do right and have an overflowing testimony.
That quote of Dilbert Terry is something I remember often- especially when I'm in the perfect position to give someone an invitation to church and I don't have a tract/invitation on me. The closer you walk to with the Lord, your burden for lost souls grows greater, and your priorities shift greatly. When you are right with the Lord and your priorities are His priorities, your dealings with the unsaved become more about winning them to the Lord than anything else.
The salvation of lost souls ought to keep you in line when dealing with the world. 

When it comes to reaching the lost my pastor has taught me more than anyone. It's not just the things he says during preaching but the way he conducts his relationships with the unsaved and how he treats visitors to church. It is clearly a priority of his to tell people about Jesus.

Last summer I was at the park with my son on a very hot Sunday afternoon when I saw two Jehovah's Witnesses set up and stand in the shade. I got into a bit of a friendly debate with them (though I could see one of them getting frustrated) and left unsatisfied with myself and my conduct.
I told my pastor about it and he told me that two Jehovah's Witnesses' approached him one day while he was working and he simply asked them, 'if you died today do you know for sure that you would go to heaven?' They said no. My pastor told me that no matter what they tried to get at during the conversation he kept steering it towards salvation. He said they finally gave up.
It's not about disproving false doctrine, it's about promoting the truth.
So I armed myself with that knowledge.

In the last week God gave me two great opportunities to talk to people.

Last week I was in the community putting invitations to our church's Easter Event in people's doors when a lady who was passing by asked if so and so lived in the house I was just leaving.
I told her I had no idea and I was just passing out invitations and gave her one. I asked her if she went to church and she said she goes to a big baptist church just over the hill from my little baptist church. I then asked her 'when did you get saved?'
She told me she was saved when she was nine- a relative had died and it got her thinking about it so she asked her mom about it and got saved.
It was a really lovely conversation and I think she needed it. She told me her and her husband are moving to Chilliwack so I told her I'd pray for her and she had tears in her eyes when we said bye to each other.
I really have no idea why God led me into that conversation but I'm very grateful for it and this lady, Debbie, is on my prayer list. I kind of wonder if I was put in that position to prepare me for Saturday:

My husband left for work on Saturday morning and just as my son and I were digging into breakfast a knock came at the door. When I opened the door a very friendly man wearing a suit and holding a pamphlet greeted me. I knew as soon as I saw him that he was a Jehovah's Witness and the Lord immediately said 'give him the gospel'. This man, Jason, made small talk, then opened his pamphlet to a page with the word 'anxiety' in big bold letters. He said he wasn't trying to convert me to any religion but he knew that lots of people suffer from anxiety and this pamphlet had some 'biblical' help. I said 'oh, is that by the Watchtower Society?' he said yes and I told him I don't suffer from anxiety because I have peace through Jesus Christ.
I then asked him if he died today did he know for sure he would go to heaven and with the biggest smile on his face, almost joyful, he said 'I have no idea,'
I won't go through our whole conversation but I told him the gospel several times while he just nodded, smiled, and subtly dodged the issue. He realized quickly that I was a Christian and he kept telling me how Christians all believe different things. True true but I told him it does not matter what our opinions are and what we believe- it matters what the bible says.
He said a few things I really wanted to argue with- I mean, a new heaven and a new earth just means a new government? adlkfas;kfj asdkljaskl ;jals;dfkj no.
BUT I didn't argue with him, I stuffed down my fleshly urge to run up and grab my bible. I listened to him peacefully and whenever I got a word in edgewise I would repeat that we can know we're going to heaven because of Christ's sacrifice and all we need to do is believe. I kept telling him about my peace.
We didn't talk for long and before he went on his way I told him that he's welcome to my church. He didn't offer me the pamphlet again.
I feel very sorry for this man. He clearly is fighting something inside and hiding it with a cheerful demeanour. God wanted him to hear the gospel and me to give it to him.

My pastor's simple instructions on just asking people who claim to be saved when they got saved and asking the unsaved if they would go to heaven would not be as effective if he didn't prove it from his conduct. Soul winning is something he talks about a lot and 'making Jesus known' is our church's vision for this year.
It's not us trying to win people through our conversation skills, charms, or knowledge of the bible. It's us showing the love of Christ, sharing his mercy, and telling them about the peace we have with God through Jesus Christ. Submission is always the first step; yielding our will to His and letting him work through us.
It's not natural to want to talk to people, learn about them, and tell them about Christ. It's not natural to be cheerful and discerning when dealing with people you will likely never see again. This is where your priorities show. If you're all about yourself and your own, you won't consider that the people you are dealing with every day are headed to hell.
I have to say, it helps when you are challenged almost every time you go to church to reach others.
So there. Next time you're talking to someone who may be unsaved, ask them if they died today do they know for sure they would go to heaven. You may just have to throw it out there randomly, but it will get the conversation started and if they run away, at least you put a life saving bee in their bonnet.

Lastly, my pastor showed this video at church one Sunday night. It is a huge encouragement and a wonderful story:

I hope this was an encouragement and a help to you.