The Power of a Challenge

1 Samuel 17.4-11

4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.

6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.

7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.

8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.

9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.

10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.

11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.

The Power of a Challenge

Great leaders throughout time have motivated men through the use of challenges. JFK, in his Presidential acceptance speech, challenged all of America with these words:

“Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”

Motivational speakers know the power of challenging their audiences to move forward in career and personal endeavors. It is time that we learn the power of a challenge.

We hear speakers talk about goal setting. It is easy to think lofty in these times to set grandiose goals for ourselves. Naturally, the first and foremost goal is to make Heaven our home. However, while this is the ultimate goal of every Child of God, it is broad and largely unchallenging. To be a challenge, a goal must be measurable and closely attainable. There is nothing wrong with setting this as our far reaching goal, but we need goals closer to home in order to challenge us.

For example; a person with the before mentioned goal, may plan that they will repent and get right with God when they are close to death. It is attainable still, but requires nothing of them on a daily basis. It is unrealistic, in that, none of us know exactly when the time of our death will arrive. Our goals, in order to challenge us, must be closer at hand. We must set a goal that we can measure and obtain.

For example: my goal for this week is to fast three meals and to pray three hours.

This is obtainable and measureable. At the end of the chosen seven day period, we have either fasted three meals and prayed three hours or we have not.

The goal must have a method to obtain that is based in reality. I can set a goal to have a million dollars in thirty years. This is measureable. It is long term, but will involve daily strategies and sacrifices. I can see if I am on track or not. I can adjust accordingly. However, to set a goal like this and do nothing, expecting that the money will merely appear at some point, is unrealistic. Wouldn’t you agree?

To say, my goal is to make Heaven my home and then sit and do nothing is just as unrealistic.

A challenge will either devastate or motivate you.

Goliath challenged the Children of Israel and such was the power of that challenge that they were dismayed and greatly afraid. The word interpreted ‘dismayed’ is ‘chathath’ which means ‘to prostrate or break down.’

For 40 days, every morning and every evening, Goliath stepped out on the field of battle and issued his challenge. No battle was enjoined. No combat had occurred. No physical contact was made. No arrow was let fly. No spear had been thrown. The Children of Israel were stopped by the power of Goliath’s challenge.

Every morning and every evening, as the challenge went unanswered, it grew in strength. It gained in power.

You must answer the challenges that come to you quickly or they will overcome you.

Every day that you allow yourself to be buffeted by the forces of Satan, they will grow in power over you. Every day that you allow the challenge to be unanswered, it get stronger in its ability to constrain you or break you down. You may not defeat it on the first day, but you must not allow it to come and go unanswered. The Red Sea would have appeared to grow wider and wider as the Children of Israel looked across it. Every day, doubt and fear would have pushed the opposing shoreline further and further away. The walls of Jericho would have grown taller and stronger in the estimation of the children of Israel had they not daily went out and answered the challenge.

Here, in the valley of Elah, Saul’s army had allowed the defiant Philistines to break them down and fill them with fear.

1 Peter 2.9

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

Let’s look at Basic English. ‘Can’ speaks about ability. ‘May’ speaks about permission. This scripture is not talking about Satan having the ability to devour us. It is talking about whom the devil has the permission to devour. I have spoke of this in several Bible studies. Too many Christians are fooled by Satan into thinking he sets the rules for engagement. He does not. When he desired to go after Job, he was only allowed to go so far. Who set those terms? God did. God still sets the terms for this battle. Satan does not have Gods permission to destroy you. The problem is that we give Satan permission. We allow him to buffet us. We allow him to brow beat us. We allow him to challenge us unanswered. If WE allow it, he will destroy us.

Years before and far from the battlefield, a young lad was tending his father’s sheep. A lion roared against him, and he slew it. A bear came after the sheep. He protected the sheep and slew the bear. Challenges came and he answered them. He faced the challenges as they came. I cannot tell you the David was without fear, because the Word does not say that. However, I can assure you, by the authority of god’s Word that he was not stopped by any fear he may have had, and he was not stopped by the challenges he faced in tending the sheep.

Jesse, his father, sent David to take food and drink to his brothers on the hill in the battle that was not. When David arrived, the Philistine issued his challenge. David, probably, waited for someone to answer the challenge. When no one stepped forth, David asked the question “Is there not a cause?”

David was not stopped by fear, nor was he dismayed by the words of the Philistine. David was challenged by the challenge. His heart was set afire. His spirit was inflamed. His courage and determination were kindled. Something must be done.

“Is there not a cause?”

As a child, few things are harder to resist than a challenge. Who among us are not familiar with the words, “I dare you,” or better yet, the words, “I double dog dare you”?

How many countless times has a mother had to bandage the end results of some ludicrous dare? How many times has a doctor had to set the bones of some double dare? Such is the power of a challenge to push us to do more than we would ordinarily do. It will push us to do something we normally consider beyond our ken.

In athletics

Competitors are motivated by a challenge:

· to win,

· to be the best,

· to exercise to the limit and beyond,

· to run faster

· to jump higher

· to go farther

In education

Children must be challenged to learn. I have seen, in homes where education is a low priority, children do not do as well in school. Children learn best when there is a challenge to learn.

In work or careers

We seek things that will challenge us. Without it, we quickly lose interest and work quality suffers. In factories, tack times are set to give the works an acceptable timeframe for a task, and to give them a goal to beat. Without a goal, we become slow and lazy.

In sports, education, and work, without a challenge, there is no excitement.

We must never become complacent in our walk with God. We must never be at ease. We must always have a challenge in our lives. Challenges motivate.

God’s people have always been people of challenge.

· Moses was challenged by the situation in Egypt even before God called to him from the burning bush in the desert.

· Abraham was challenged by the Lord to move out in faith to as land that He would show unto him.

· Joshua was challenged by the walls of Jericho.

· Hannaniah, Mishael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) were challenged by the great image and the king’s decree.

· Esther was challenged by the plight of the Jews and the rules of the king’s court.

· All throughout the Word of God, man and woman have been challenged.

I am quite sure that there were those who did not rise to the occasion. I am sure there were those that ran from the challenge. Saul was challenged. Judas was challenged. Demas was challenged. Goliath challenged the whole of the armies of Israel.

There is a story of a shoe company that sent two of its best salesmen to Africa. The salesmen arrived and began going throughout the area. The following day, one salesman sent the company this message:

“Bring me home. No-one here wears shoes.”

The second salesman sent the company a message as well. His message read:

“Send me all the shoes you have. Everyone one here needs shoes.”

Did the salesmen arrive in different places? No. Did they see different people? No.

In the same place, seeing the same people, one salesman was devastated and the other was motivated.

What will your challenges do to you today?

The disciples were challenged. We are challenged today.

What challenged the disciples?

When we look at the lives of men like Peter and Paul, we cannot help but wonder if they knew they were establishing guidelines by their lives. NO. I think they were just living their lives and doing everything they could to be saved and to meet the challenges presented before them.

· They were challenged by the Words of Jesus.

· They were challenged by the task before them.

· They were challenged by the opposition against them.

Have we lost our challenge?

Does our work for the Lord mean as much today as it did in the past?

Have we become slow and lazy in our work for the Lord?

Today is almost over. What we can do for the Lord today is almost done. Tomorrow, like a fresh blanket of snow, looms before us. It is a challenge to every one of us. Here is the wonderful thing about the challenge of tomorrow. It does not consider the failures of yesterday. The challenge before us does not care if this is your first time to answer the call. It does not consider if you have failed in the past. This challenge beckons us. It calls to us. We will lay aside the successes or failures of yesterday and move forward with the challenge.

The challenges or demands of the Word of God:

We are collectively and individually to be led by the Word of God. Just as David was challenged by the Word of God (hid in my heart) we are to be challenged by it. The Word of God demands certain things of believers, but not without giving us the power to overcome.

Many people throughout time have sought to do away with these Words, but in spite of all their efforts, it still stands. It still issues forth a challenge to all the ages. It challenges us to live holy and circumspectly in an evil and idolatrous world. It dares, no; double dog dares us, to live holy before the Lord, to live according to the dictates of His salvation.

His Word empowers us, encourages us, enables us, and excites us with its challenges. Just as the disciples before us, we must also meet the demands of the Word.

The demands of the task before us:

What is the task of the Church?

I am not speaking of the task of the individual. Our individual task is to live for the Lord. We are to live holy. We are to live rightly. We are to prepare ourselves for the world top come. While we are intricately involved in the task of the church, it is not our individual task. The task of the church is the task of the entire body of Christ.

While my toes are involved in the task of walking, my toes cannot complete that task on their own. Without my toes doing their part, walking is difficult to impossible, but it is still not the sole task of the toes to move us from one place to another.

What is the task of the church?

Jesus was speaking to His Church when he issued this challenge:

“Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

It is our task to reach the lost.

Look at the challenge. At first glance it seems it could be impossible. All the world … every creature

I worked construction as an electrician for thirty years. The job of building is broken down into sections. There is one building, built by several crafts, working together. The task of building is broken down into more manageable tasks. These sections are further broken down into different systems. These systems are broken down into several parts as well. Everyone doing their part, fitly joining together will build a building.

You .. save your house .. save your street .. save your workplace .. reach your family .. wrest your friends from Satan’s grip ..

Carry your corner.

We can win the world, one soul at a time.

The demands of the opposition against us:

He is formidable but he is not unconquerable.

We need to see the bruised heel crushing the head of the serpent. From the garden, this pronouncement of judgment has been his destiny. For all his roar, for all his ferocity, he is a defeated foe.

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all.”

The two worst things you can do in a battle are to overestimate the power of your enemy and to underestimate the power of your enemy. Do not take him lightly, but do not give him more power than he has either. Jesus is ever able, ever desiring to give us the victory.

We are challenged by the power of the opposition as David was.

What has changed?

Has the Word changed?

Has the task changed?

Has the opposition changed?

Have we changed?

We must renew our challenges daily. We must refuse to be satisfied with mediocrity. We must resolve, not today only, but every day, to keep the anointing fresh, to allow the Word, the work, and the enemy, to challenge us.

It is hard to resist a challenge. Today, in the face of all eternity, we are challenged .. to win .. to work .. to live ..

One must face a challenge before one can become a conqueror.

Only challenges produce champions.

The soul winner’s heart

Proverbs 11.30 " ... he that winneth souls is wise."

For the sake of this Bible Study, I want to clarify or establish certain things.

· God does not change.

Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not”

Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

Jesus of the New Testament is the God of the Old Testament. The Word tells us that He is the image of the invisible God. He is the representation of the God we are not capable of beholding with our natural eyes. God told Moses that no man could see his face and live. Moses stood in the cleft of the mountain and was covered by God’s hand as he passed. When he was past him, God took away His hand and Moses saw the back parts of God. Even this alone caused Moses face to shine with such a glory that the Children of Israel were afraid to approach him when he came down from the mount. Moses put a veil over his face so that he could speak to them without then being fearful.

· God’s attitude about sin has not changed.

While Jesus’ death on the cross fulfilled the law (sacrifices were no longer necessary to push our sins ahead for one year,) His attitude about what is right and wrong did not change. If God hated it in the Old Testament, He still hated it in the New Testament. The ushering in of the dispensation of grace did not change Gods attitude about sin, it merely created a space for us to repent and turn from our wicked ways. It merely holds the judgment of God at bay for a time. In the Old Testament, where judgment was often swift and final, grace now steps in and gives us time to repent.

Now, let me make a statement you are welcome to disagree with and see if we can come to an understanding. The murderer will not go to hell for murdering. What? Surely, everyone must consider that murder is a sin. One of the commandments clearly proclaims, “Thou shalt not kill.” True.

However, the Word of God tells us, in Romans 8:7, that, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” An unrepentant person is not subject to the laws of God. When the murderer stands before God, God will be looking for the blood. If the blood is not there, he will be cast into the lake of fire. This will not be the result of his act of murdering, but rather his lack of repentance, baptism, and Holy Ghost infilling. The sinner has one commandment, “Repent.”

Now, once a sinner becomes a blood bought child of God, they are subject to all the laws of God. Then, the laws of God apply. Then can one be sent to hell for a murder. Then can one be sent to hell for sin.

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter told the gathered crowd that God had made this Jesus both Lord (controller) and Christ (Messiah.) They realized that their actions had caused the death of the one that came to save them. Jesus was the Messiah promised from the Garden of Eden to bruise the head of Satan. Jesus was the promised one of Isaiah. They were convicted (pricked .. stung to the quick) in their hearts, not of their individual sins, but the knowledge that their sins, individually and collectively, brought about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and this knowledge was unbearable to their souls, and for this reason they cried out, “What must we do?”

Peter did not point them out individually and recount their sins. There was only one thing they needed to know. They needed to know that their sins placed Jesus on the cross. Their sins made them worthy of the death that Jesus died, and yet, He took their place.

There is a difference between convicting and accusing. When we stand in our position of imagined superiority and point our finger of judgment at those around us, we are not convicting. We are accusing.

I wonder if at times, if we listened closely, we might hear Jesus saying, “Ye know not what spirit ye are of.”

Luke 9:51-56

And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,

And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.

And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.

And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?

But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.

For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

What spirit are we manifesting when we speak derogatorily of sinners? What spirit is it that seeks to destroy with the raining fire of words? In the scripture just read, it is obviously not the Spirit of Jesus. Since Jesus remains the same yesterday, today, and forever, we can extrapolate that it is no more acceptable today than it was then. These were not words that Jesus was fine with. These were words, exemplifying a spirit that Jesus felt was worthy of rebuke.

John Tillotson, Archbishop of Canterbury (1691-1694), said, “Let us never do anything for religion which is contrary to religion” We need to check the motive for our religious zeal. James and John were, no doubt, motivated by the long standing prejudice the Jews had against the Samaritans. This seething hatred was such that if a Jews accidentally brushed against a Samaritan in the street, he would immediately find a place to wash himself.

Have we, as Children of God, become so intolerable that we cannot see past the sin to find the redeemable heart of the sinner?

Have we forgotten, as Paul stated, that we may have been the chiefest of all sinners?

Have we forgotten that but for the grace of God, that might be us?

We cannot win a soul after we have murdered it.

1 Corinthians 6:9-12

9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

Here in Corinthians, Paul gives a litany of those that will not inherit the kingdom of God. He goes through his list; not these or those, not this one or that one, not this sin or that sin, will inherit the kingdom. Then, when he is finished with his list, he adds, for the sake of all those listening and reading, “And such were some of you:”

We are sinners that have been washed (cleaned.) We have been sanctified (set apart for a purpose.) We have been justified (Conviction overturned.)

John 13.35 .. “by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if you have love one to another.”

‘Have love’ In the original text, have is ‘echo’ and the verb for love is ‘agape’. ‘Agape is one of three primary Greek words for love. Each is similar and diverse in meaning. I like to use the words ‘give’ and ‘take’ to describe them.

The first is ‘eros’ from which we get the word erotic. ‘Eros” is a destructive love. It is a take/take love. It does not give anything back to the giver. It drains the giver of strength and vitality.

The second word is ‘phileo’. It is a brotherly type of love. Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love derived from the Greek words ‘phileo’ and ‘delpha’ ‘Phileo –brotherly love. ‘Delphia’ – city. This is a give/take love. It is the most common love.

The third is ‘agape’. This is a sacrificial love. It is a give/give love. It is a love not based on performance. This is the word used in John 13.35.

Jesus was saying, when the sacrificial love of God echoes through us, all men will know that we are the children/disciples of God.

We need to learn to speak against sin without speaking against the sinner. When we can do this, we begin to have the heart of the soul winner. We must condemn the sin without condemning the sinner. We must condemn the theft without condemning the thief. We must condemn the murder while reaching out to the murder. We must condemn homosexuality while reach out to the homosexual.

Genesis 18.20-31 .. here we find Abraham pleading for the souls of the sinners living in Sodom. Even if one would claim he was concerned about the soul of his nephew in the city, he was still pleading for souls in the city. He was asking that the entire city be spared.

1Corinthians 3:6 “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” What is that watering? It is the tears of the soul winner pleading for lost souls. I can see saints in churches as they cry tears for their lost children. I can see them as they plead for the souls of their families. Who cries for Ruth? You know Ruth. She was the Moabite daughter-in-law of Naomi. She was a pagan. Her tribe was an enemy of Israel. She and her descendants, by Mosaic Law, were not permitted to enter into the congregation for ten generations. Who cries for the Ruths of the world? Who cries for those without heritage? My Pastor will tell you that he didn’t grow up in this. He didn’t know the Lord in his youth or through his family. I am third generation church family. My grandmother came to God years before I was born. My father came to God before I was born. My father became a pastor when I was three years old. I grew up in this. Who cries for Ruth? She had no heritage which brought her to God. Someone, with the heart of a soul winner, cried for her. She was the great grandmother of David, the greatest King of Israel.

Jude 1.23 “and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

The soul winner reaches beyond the sin to find the heart of the sinner.

The Bible reminds us that, while we are saved from sin, we were once sinners.

1st John 4:20 “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”

It might be easy, at first glance to dismiss this scripture as meaning only those of like faith, but closer inspection does not hold up the belief.

The word ‘hateth’ is ‘miseo’ which means ‘to detest, especially to persecute, by implication, to love less’.

The word for ‘love’ in this scripture is ‘agape’. Yes, it is the sacrificial kind.

The word ‘brother’ and find it to be ‘adelphos’ which means ‘ a common birth’ or the family of mankind.

Even if we seek to dismiss the general usage of the word for brother and try to narrow it down to just the family of believers, are we then saying that it is okay to hate some, as long as they are not believers?

The scriptures do not uphold such a narrow view of our responsibility to express and show the love of God in our daily lives.

1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love (agape’) one another.

1 John 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love (agape’)one another.

1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love(agape’) the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

What is ‘passing from death unto life’? The scriptures tell us that we were once dead in sins. It further tells us that ‘whom the spirit hath made alive is alive indeed’.

1Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love (agape’) in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love (agape’) one another, as he gave us commandment.

Matt 22:36-39 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love (agape’) thy neighbour as thyself.

Mark 12:28-31 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love (agape’) thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Luke 10:29-37 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love (agape’) one another, as I have loved you.

Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love (agape’) thy neighbour as thyself.

1 Thessalonians 4:9 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love (agape’) one another.

1 Peter 4:7-9 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality (philoxenos .. love of strangers) one to another without grudging.

Clearly, the scriptures show that we have a mandate from God to love others.

What is the soul winner’s heart? It is the heart that loves.

Are we so afraid that the conversion we experienced will somehow be diminished but loving sinners, that we have constructed a wall with the materials God gave us to build a bridge?

A term used many times in the Bible dealing with the interaction between opposing sides of an issue is ‘persecute’ which has the base word meaning ‘to flee’. When we persecute others, we seek to cause them to flee from us. When we use harsh derogatory words, we seek to create a space between those we persecute and ourselves. We seek to build a wall. It is an ironic thing about being walled in, in that, while things cannot get in to you, the things you are commanded to display cannot escape. We cannot show the love of God from behind our walled fear.

The heart of the soul winner is an open heart.

I accept the every person has a God given right to make their own choice, guided or misguided, of how they want to live their lives. Accepting this does not mean I accept that it is okay to steal. I do not accept that it is okay to kill. I do not accept that it is okay to lie. I do not accept that it is okay to be a fornicator or adulterer. I do accept that, as a child of God, I will show love to those that do these things. This does not make it alright. This does not change the holiness of God. This does not change the scripture. This does not diminish my salvation or walk with God. This simply makes me accessible to win souls for the Kingdom of God.

I heard someone say once (sadly, from a pulpit,) “Do we want this kind of person in our church?” (speaking of a specific sin.)

I will answer without reservation.

Yes!

· I want sinners in my church.

· I want liars in my church.

· I want thieves in my church.

· I want gays in my church.

· I want adulterers in my church.

· I want fornicators in my church.

Luke 5:31 “And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.”

Lord, give me the soul winner’s heart.

Create in me, a clean heart, one not defiled with hatred and prejudice, one not shackled by fear and intolerance of my brother, washed or unwashed, one filled to overflowing with your love and mercy, and willing to reach out to lost humanity.