We are all spiritually ignorant without Christ. It doesn’t matter about our time, place or culture in which we live. We are all dead in sin, no matter how large or narrow our biblical literacy might be. We are all empty without the Holy Spirit.

Every person who finds the Lord, does so because of His mercy and grace. God opens our eyes to see Him, and our need of Him. We each, individually, need the enlightenment of the Spirit of God to see our sinfulness and our need of forgiveness. We must seek Him and confess our sin and give over our lives to God in Christ.

This happens when we hear the truth about God and ourselves. The plain speaking of the truth of the Scriptures illuminates our minds. Not the interesting stories or illustrations from popular culture, but the plain speaking of the Word of God. God requires holiness and we do not have it. So we must seek the holy God to change us and forgive us. We find out about this in the Bible. It is the plain Word of God to all people, always.

Christians need to speak the truth in love and reach out to whoever God puts in our way. We should speak to them personally and persuasively, telling the way to eternal life. This is a humble outlook. This is sacrifice – to be the person others need me to be. It may mean giving up comfortable relationships and moving out into the world. To stand for Jesus the Saviour in dark places is the calling of every Christian, not a chosen few. God chose you to be saved, so you now reach out to others.

The love of Christ and our love for Christ will be the motivation and power behind what we do. Obeying His commands and seeking that His Kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven. That will stop the self-orientated empire building that is the reason for many so- called works for God.

To find the lost and bring them to Christ is heart breaking and back breaking work. It is what we do for His dear sake. We also build others up in faith and love, teaching the deep and wonderful truths of God. As we see our Saviour Jesus, so we seek to be like Him and that others also will live for Him.
So what does it take?
Dying to self, and living life full out for Christ. To walk in His way, bearing our cross, and bringing many to faith in Him.