Prayer is your greatest weapon & shield or protection. Never underestimate the power of prayer and do not attempt anything without prayer. Pray always & without ceasing. Pray accurately & exact. Pray specifically not maybe but directly. Your life as a Christian is going to be dependent upon your prayer life. Your life as a person leading others to Jesus is going to be dependent upon your prayer life.

John 16:23-24 ...And in that day you shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. :24 Hitherto have you asked nothing in my name: ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.

Matthew 6:9 After this manner therefore pray you: Our Father

Matthew 7:11 ..... shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Luke 11:13 ......our heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

John 11:21-22 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother had not died. :22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever you wilt ask of God, God will give it you.

John 15:16 .....whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

Our prayers are to be offered to Father God in the name of Jesus. It is like when Pastor David has told me to take photos or video of some of you. I came to you in the name of Pastor David, I requested to take your photo in his name. On our own we have no authority BUT through the blood and name of Jesus, Father God has respect for our prayers.

You must communicate with your father God on a constant basis. Not only speaking out your needs but also interceding for the lost people that you know and will meet. Praying for their salvation, praying for the saving of human souls and spirits. Then listening to His directions and obeying His leading.

Prayer is a two-way conversation. You talk He listens to you; God talks, and you listen to Him. We must take the time to shut our mouths, clear our minds of daily thoughts and with great attention listen to His voice. Many people say BUT I cannot hear the voice of God, They say I have NEVER heard the voice of God. I tell you VERY SIMPLY it is because they have not taken the time to HEAR HIM. Lets look at three Bible references showing the truth that we as His children "Christians" DO HEAR His voice.

Revelations 3:22 He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches.

This is how we can be instant or ready in season and out of season. A heart that is prayed up will be obedient to the will of the Spirit of God. When you begin to live a life of prayer you will see how that God is always speaking to you, and directing you toward the supply and answers to your prayers. A heart that is prayed up will never have to worry about what to say to the lost. A heart that is prayed up will win thousands to Christ in their lifetime. Pray, pray, pray: it is the key to your success as a Christian.

The thought of approaching someone who is a total stranger or even worse, a close friend or family member, to share with them the message of the Gospel of Jesus is to many Christians a nervous or even frightening thought. WHY ????

What if I mess up? What if he or she laughs at me? What if I'm ridiculed or made fun of? Fear of failure or fear of embarrassment often choke the greatest message the world could ever hear from coming from our lips. I know this because I suffered from this crippling fear. I am convinced that one of Satan's most effective tools in every society and nation is fear. Not the very real fear of losing your life or being stoned or having your tongue cut out, that our Brothers and Sisters face in nations all over the earth but the simple and strong fear of social rejection. The heavy fear of family rejection. With this one tool he has been able for years to shut the mouth of far to many Christians who would be witnesses of Jesus grace and love "the Gospel".

Without Jesus in their lives people become increasingly harder to reach because their hearts get colder and harder. Satan has more and more time to blind them to the Gospel and to show them the riches or false blessings of this world.

We carry in us the answer to man’s blindness. Jesus is all lost people need. Once the Word hits their hearts and ears it will not return void. We have been told to go into ALL the world and preach the Gospel. To carry the good news to those who do not believe. You and I have not been told to go into all the world and save people! WE cannot save them ONLY JESUS CAN. It is ONLY our job to show them the gospel through our lives and words. Isaiah 55:11 "So shall my Word be that goes forth out of my mouth: It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing where to I sent it."

It is here that I want you to be very clear; preaching the Gospel with your actions is more effective than 1000 spoken words. People want to know that what we have and what we are is REAL, they see the reality of it through our LOVE. Through GOD’S LOVE channeled through us. When you speak the Gospel to someone who has been touched with the tangible love of God they are effected. But looking at it from the other side when you speak the Gospel to someone who has not felt the touch of God’s love it is HYPOCRISY and EMPTY LIES, it is tradition and religion, it is a useless old book that some crazy people try to live their lives by, it is utter foolishness and a waste of valuable time. These are the thoughts and ideas of the person who only hears the Gospel and has never seen and felt the Gospel through the LOVE of CHRISTIANS and their Father God. We must learn to love and serve as well as preach and speak the Word of God.

You see when we serve sinners with God’s love it is like a catalyst for the kingdom of God to go forward into their lives. Our credibility grows as we walk in servanthood, and the greater our authority, the more the world will listen to our message. People respect us because they have seen our servant attitude and felt the love of God through it. Here in modern times we understand more the idea of promotion than we do true authority. Recent church history shows us that very gifted people don't always carry great power and influence. Jesus was empowered precisely because he came as a servant.

Philippians 2:9-11 shows us the end result of love and serving: "Therefore God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." As the ultimate servant, Jesus received ultimate authority from the Father. Because he had authority in the lives of those he served, Jesus was able to call people to repentance.

Mother Teresa has been one of the most influential people on earth because she has served hurting people like very few are willing to. Tony Campolo describes Mother Teresa's appearance at a Harvard University chapel service. She didn't hold back or pull any punches. At one point she said, "I understand there are a lot of you students in this school who are doing things that displease God. You are harming yourselves and offending God. Some of you are drinking alcohol and taking drugs. Others of you are engaged in sexual sin of many sorts. I have a message for you from God: Repent, turn away from what you are doing." The result of Mother Teresa's exhortation was amazing. The entire auditorium full of people rose to their feet and applauded like thunder for several minutes. They gave this simple woman a standing ovation for calling them to repentance! Her credibility as a servant gave her authority as a speaker.

In a way we have seen that here in Albania, many doors have been opened to me simply because I am American. The average Albanian sees America as a nation of people who are giving. So based on this in his or her eyes I am seen as someone to respect. That is just a very small taste of what it is like when we begin to serve and love people in the power of God. I have seen people open their homes and lives because they have felt the loving touch of God and seen the loving service of God through others and me as Christians. They have SEEN the Gospel as well as heard it.

I recently read on this Church’s Internet web page; Pastor Kledi’s salvation testimony. Although I had heard it before, reading it reminded me, of how effective God’s love is in touching the heart of an unbeliever. You see Kledi was hurting and in many ways lonely. He just wanted to know and see someone who loved him. Because Pastor Hervin loved Jesus, and obeyed the voice of the Holy Spirit Kledi found out just in time for his birthday that Jesus loved him. He found Christians who loved him and he saw with his eyes the Gospel, then he was able to hear with his heart the Gospel. The end result of that love and serving is still a long way off BUT the young man you see standing before you today is definitely the fruit of Christians giving him God’s love and serving him in the power of the Holy Spirit.

I am convinced that the greatest power in ALL the universe is the LOVE OF GOD. I am also convinced that when we allow that love to flow through us that NOTHING can stop it from changing people’s lives. After all God is love and that power, is the very essence of God Himself, touching people’s hearts.

When we touch a person's heart, we touch them at the very deepest level. When we touch a person's heart then we truly enter their lives in an evangelistic way. Although we use many approaches and many styles to evangelize we can see in the Word of God that to make a lasting effect we must touch the heart. So here is where evangelism begins.

Having spent time in intercession, praying for lost souls and preparing our hearts for the evangelistic work now we begin to step out into evangelism. Let us remember that people’s hearts are what we are shooting for. The weapon we will be using is primarily God’s love shown through humble servanthood. In this way we are preparing the soil of their hearts to receive the Gospel of the Word of God. The Word of God is shown to us like seed; the seed needs to be sown into the hearts of people.

When we give people God’s love we are preparing the soil of their hearts. This opens the door for the Holy Spirit to lead and draw them to Jesus. When I show someone God’s love they open up even without realizing it. We are told to sow the seed "WORD of GOD". We are not told to be careful with the seeds like they will run out tomorrow. We are told to prepare the soil, sow the seed and care for it as it comes up. We can sow the seed knowing that the supply is endless, we do not need to ration it or save it for tomorrow but sow, sow, sow because Father God gives us more that we can ever use in our lifetime, because each word in the Bible has the power to reproduce itself in seed.

People are captives or prisoners of war in three statuses:

1) They are prisoners, but they look for anything they can do to disrupt the enemy. These are your morally good people. They are not saved, but they don't indulge in evil practices either.

2) They are prisoners that exist or survive only. They don't aid the enemy, but neither do they resist. These are the lost that just take life as it comes. They aren't excessively immoral, but they are not "angels" either.

3) There are those who are determined to aide the enemy in anyway they can thinking this will make the quality of life while captive as slaves better. In the end the capture "Satan" kills them off just like the other two groups.

It is easier for us to see the Love of God working on the first two groups of people. These are the people who ask real and in-depth questions when they encounter a Christian who serves and loves them. Many times they have heard and received some part of the Gospel. Maybe they have even read some of the Bible. Our service and love are like water and sun on the seeds that have been sown into their lives. One of the problems with these two groups is that they often want to argue about their beliefs.

Jesus told us to go with the good news not arguments. They have a right to believe whatever they wish. Love them, serve them and speak life into them the Word of God is life. This is for me the primary reason to memorize scripture, when the Word of God is truly in you it will come out of your mouth like your own words and it will go out with great power. It is not our job to point out their sins and mistakes but to shine God’s love and speak His Word.

If you know someone who fits into the third group, I would suggest that you dedicate a day each week to fast and pray for them. Praying that the Holy Spirit bless them. That they hear the word of God over the Television, radio, and in print. Pray for their safety and health. Watch them because God will bombard them with His love. When you have spent a few months fasting praying for them Holy Spirit will begin speaking to you about EXACTLY how to minister to them. Maybe one word in passing, maybe a smile, maybe a handshake. No matter what it is obey it and do not try to push any further than Holy Spirit tells you. Do not be like Moses who beat the rock with his staff. God only said to touch it not beat it. If God tells you to shake their hand he can transfer His love and grace to them in 5 seconds of hand to hand contact. They will walk away knowing that they have just made contact with the greatest power in the universe. Then continue to fast and pray for them. Eventually there will come a time when they will come to you, seeking Gods love and another touch from that power. If you have continued fasting and praying for them the power of Father God will be present to meet their need.

Romans 10:13-15 & 17 :13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. :14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? :15 And how shall they preach except they be sent? As it is written. How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" :17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Faith only comes by hearing, and the only way they can hear is if we as Christians are obedient to speak His Word. Remember that an open heart receives the Word much easier than a closed one. It is the love of God that opens the hearts of people. As Christians we enter the battle to set captive prisoners free right here. Be sure the battle is VERY REAL it is not a game it is not to be entered without conviction. That is why I began with prayer, that is why we continue with prayer and throughout every thing we do we will pray. NEVER under value prayer and it’s effect in your life and the lives of EVERYONE you meet and touch for God.

Here I must take the time to tell you that faith without works is dead...... yes we start with prayer and walk through all we do in prayer BUT we must get out of our prayer room and touch people with service and love. I will say it over and over the LOVE OF GOD is our power in all we do and it is the most effective weapon we have in this battle to rescue prisoners from Satan’s hold.

The primary function of the Church is to spread the Gospel of Jesus.

1 Corinthians 9:16 - "for though I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel!" Here in this scripture is the attitude that every believer and every local Church must have in order to fulfill the great commission Jesus gave to us in Mark 16:15. And he said unto them, Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Teaching, prophesying, miracles, healings and tongues are all meant for one purpose. To point people to Jesus. Preaching is meant for one purpose. That purpose is to increase the Kingdom of God. For Him to build up His Church. Our part in increasing His Kingdom is to set more captives free through the preaching of Jesus Christ crucified. Obedience to Jesus through His written word and the Holy Spirit is a must in our lives. If we preach not the Gospel we are walking in the sin of willful disobedience.

Acts 1:8 - " But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you and YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESSES unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth."

We are witnesses after the Holy Spirit has come upon us. We give witness or evidence of Jesus Christ. This is not something Spirit filled people only choose to do; but IT IS WHAT WE ARE. Our nature makes us witnesses because our nature is that of a new creature in Christ Jesus. It is God Himself through the Holy Spirit that empowers us to be witnesses.

Sinners do not purpose in their hearts to come to church to be convicted of their sins. And they do not accidentally show up at church. We must go beyond all fixed limits to touch people with the Love of God and reach people with the Gospel. At our schools, work, shops, parks anywhere that we find lost people is where we need to go with God’s love and the good news. We have more possibilities to give away the Love of God than we can ever fulfill, let us start to use some of them.

You are not responsible for the decision made by those you witness to. Not everyone whom you share God’s love and the Gospel with will be saved at that time. Some will refuse the Gospel, because their hearts have not yet felt the touch of God’s love. Some have felt His love but need a little more time for it to work in them. We simply stand in faith with patience for their salvation.

We pray that Holy Spirit send people to water the seeds that have been planted in them. praying that they have more and more experiences with the love of God. Maybe even dedicate our selves to daily prayer for them personally and even some fasting for them. But we do not allow Satan to give us discouragement we stand firm believing for them to be born again. After all are we evangelizing to build our Church or the see God build HIS CHURCH.

1 Corinthians 3:6-9 :6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. :7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that waters; but God that gives the increase. :8 Now he that plants and he that waters are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. :9 For we are laborers together with God: you are God's husbandry, you are God's building.

God will give the increase in His time. Believe the seeds you sow will come up yielding fruits of salvation and move on in prayer. We can share God’s love literally anywhere and any time. Begin wherever your prospect is at. Any place, time, condition, etc. as the Holy Spirit leads.

Examples.

John 4:6-30; Woman at well.

Acts 3:1-11; Man at the gate beautiful.

Acts 2:15-40; Peter on day of Pentecost.

John 3:1-21; Nicodeinus.

Acts 8:26-35; Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunich.

The lost will not intentionally come to church and they do not accidentally fall in the front door. We must go to where they are and compel them to come in.

Matthew 22:9: Go you therefore into the highways, and as many as you shall find, invite & welcome to the marriage.

Because she had a record of service and a clean testimony. Our testimony must remain clean.

1 Timothy 5:21-22 Keep thyself pure

James 1:27 Keep yourself unspotted from the world.

James 3:17-18 Wisdom from above

Phil 4:4-9 Think on the good things

Gal 5:25 Walk in the Spirit

1 Corinthians 9:14

Those that preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel. We are to live what we preach.

There is no room for respect of persons. ALL prejudice must be cleared from your mind.

James 2:9 But if you have respect to persons, you commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

Gal 2:9-14 :9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

There are only two kinds of people in the world. Those that need Jesus and those that need more of Jesus. All who accept Christ become part of Abraham's family being heirs according to the promise given him.

Gal 3:26-29 :26 For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. :28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus. :29 And if you be Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

We must be committed to Jesus Christ and evangelism; NOT just involved. Imagine you sit to eat a pork chop and egg lunch. Here see very vividly the difference between involvement and being committed. The chicken sacrificed only an egg and was involved in the breakfast. The pig sacrificed his life and was committed to the breakfast.

There is a vast difference between being in the battle until the war is over and doing a tour of duty. During W.W.II American military troops were sent across the sea to Europe and Asia to defeat Hitler’s Nazis and the Japanese and told they would return home when the war was over. They fought with determination and commitment to end the war quickly, fighting day after day always looking for the day it would be over and they would get the call to go home. They were looking to defeat the enemy.

However during the Vietnam War, our government came up with the idea of having our troops do a tour of duty. They would go into the war for a scheduled year or two then return home. It was no fault to our troops but the program didn't work. Our troops began not to fight to win but to fight only to survive until their specified tour was completed. The result was 100's of thousands killed as the war went on for more than 12 years. Also today more than 30 years later Vietnam is still divided and oppressed by Communism. In short we failed.

Many Christians have a tour of duty mentality. God has NEVER given any orders for a tour of duty. Unlike our military commanders, He understands the hearts of men. He told us to occupy till He comes.

Put yourself on their level I Corinthians 9:19-27

Vs. 22 is the key to this set of versus. Paul said, "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." Paul isn't saying he became anything immoral to win all men and he didn't become like them. What he did say is that he went up or down to their social, economic, psychological, emotional or intelligence level so that he would be neither below or above those he was witnessing to.

Keep it simple.

Preach the Word 2 Tim 4:2. Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season. Paul charged Timothy before God and Jesus to Preach the Word. Not somebody else's word but God's Word. Don't preach opinions or doctrinal (church doctrines) viewpoints. If you preach the Word of God you will preach Christ, if not the Word of God then you will be preaching somebody else.

Avoid Needless Arguments

Don't involve yourself in foolish conversations where you argue doctrine or people or opinion. The Devil will try to get you into an argument so that love is lost and so that you get side tracked to everything but Jesus Christ saves.

People are notorious for not wanting to make major decisions. They would rather put it off until they absolutely have to. Always leave time for someone to make a decision for Jesus, after witnessing to them. BUT DO NOT delay the decision process by telling them to think about making a decision until a later date. Now is the acceptable time. Tomorrow may never come for them. The great evangelist D. L. Moody preached to several thousand people one night. The message was perhaps the most powerful he had ever preached on salvation. He told the great crowd of people to go home and think about making a decision for Jesus and return the next week ready to decide. That night the great Chicago fire rushed through killing most of those at the meeting. They never had another opportunity to repent and accept Christ. He never left an assembly again without giving an invitation; he also lived by these same principals in his personal evangelism. Many people will insist on another day, we should respect that but be sure they know that they are not guaranteed tomorrow. I never want to be guilty of not giving them an invitation to be born again accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

People sometimes will use the decision-making moment as a time to confront the testimony of Christ hoping to put off making a decision. When the Holy Spirit is working on a person they will be uneasy and under God’s conviction. It is a bit strange they know that they have experienced the loving touch of God but they feel that conviction or guilty feeling. The easiest thing for them to do is to sidetrack the moment. We must bring then back to the point. They either want to accept Jesus now or they don't. If they resist respect their decision and please don't argue with anyone. The people wanted to argue with Joshua in Jos. 24 but he didn't allow it. Joshua brought them back to the issue at hand. Either decide to serve God or not. If not, let them know they have made a grave decision but that you respect their right to make it. Be sure they understand that at ANYTIME they can be born again, but the sooner the better for them. Tell them you love them, Jesus loves them and you will continue to pray for them. Then do it.

An invitation is simply an invite to accept Christ and join the Kingdom of God. These times can be very emotional. So it helps to make up for yourself a card to follow until you have done it so many times that its like your favorite recipe.

Here are some suggested steps to follow when inviting someone to Christ.

1) Assure them of how much God loves them. His Son died for them personally. John 3:16.

2) Let them know the decision is theirs alone to make. They are responsible. Romans 14:11-12 Matthew 12:34-37

3) Advise them, in short direct form, what the decision is they are asked to make, for Jesus or against Christ. There are no "maybe" decisions. Joshua 24:14-23 Acts 2:38-40

4) Advise them of the consequences of their decision good or bad. John 3:18

5) Ask them very simply. Would you like to accept Christ as Lord and Savior? DO NOT ask them if they would like to go to heaven or join a church. Mark 1:15 Matt 9:28 Acts 26:26-27

6) Lead them in a prayer of repentance and

acceptance of Christ. Make sure you let them know the words they say are only as good as what they put in them from out of their heart. Romans 10:9-13 The prayer should include:

b) Renunciation of relationship with the devil and his stuff.

c) Acknowledgment that Jesus Christ is Lord.

d) Acceptance of the blood of Jesus as the only cleansing for sin.

e) Belief in the resurrection.

7) Restate what they have just done.

8) Reassure them they are Christians not because of what they did but because of what Jesus did. Ephesians 2:8-9

9) Advise them now that they are saved:

b) Go to church to draw strength from fellowship and preaching of the Word of God.

c) Study and read the Bible for personal nourishment.

d) Pray constantly for person direction and salvation of their loved ones.

e) Avoid sinful situations. Say NO to the devil.

1) I'm not a preacher. I don't know enough. If you're saved you know enough. The blind man preached and he never went to Bible School. Just relax and be yourself.

2) I don't know any lost people. All my friends

are Christians. Shame on you. Then go into all the world. Jesus was known as a friend of tax collectors and sinners. You must decide to go out of your way to find them.

3) My testimony is not very exciting like other peoples. People would not get saved by hearing a plain old conversation. You have received the greatest miracle of all. Don't de-value it. It is exciting. Besides there are others out there just like you that can relate to your testimony.

4) I've never shared Jesus with people before. If I start telling them now, what will they think? Don't be afraid to admit you've been wrong even if it means you've been wrong for years. Your friends lives depend on you.

5) I've never asked my friends if they are saved or not. There are two things I was told never to talk about with friends; religion and politics. You are talking about saving their lives not religion. Ask the questions. Be proud of Jesus. When the love of God touches their hearts they will start asking you if you are walking like a Christian around them.

6) There just doesn't seem to be an easy way to get started sharing the Gospel. I wish there were an easy way. Show yourself a Christian. People will notice you are different. Use the woman at the well as an example. Little things can give you opportunities. Listen to the Holy Spirit. Step out in boldness and faith.