Many people are trying to reach their city or their nation for God, but do not seem to have much success at it. That is because we have so many ways and strategies to reach our nation that are just not effective. And there is a reason that they are not effective. We have thousands of ideas and strategies to reach our cities and our nations and other areas, but they are our ideas. They are man’s ideas, not God’s.
The only way to reach an area, a city, a region, or a nation is to follow the principles of God. There is no other way. You don’t have to go fighting any devils or demons. You don’t have to go looking for any devils or demons to fight.
Of course when you set out to follow God and do what He says the devil will come after you. He’ll try to come after you with lack, and depression, and a bunch of other things to try to stop you.
In Matthew 4 you see when Jesus was led into the desert by the Holy Ghost and was tempted by satan. I was studying that scripture out one time when the Lord spoke to me and said that, “Most people think that I was leading Jesus into the desert to sic the devil on Him. No! I was leading Jesus out there sic Jesus on the devil!” So when you set out to do what God has called you to do, the devil will come against you.
But there are principles – Biblical, scriptural principles that you can apply that will work the same everywhere if people will apply them. They will work in any area, for any area, if you will apply them. The problem comes because people don’t apply the principles. They instead want to apply their ideas and their plans instead of the Lord’s. People don’t apply them so they don’t have results. They revert back to their strategies and then they don’t have any results and the devil is defeating them.
Churches and ministries have their strategies and they may see some success, but it’s not lasting success like you’d see with the Lord’s plans. You have churches that put on outreaches and they’re trying to get more members and win their communities and they end up doing something that is not of God and problems arise. There are churches across this nation than set out to do their own plans and put on outreaches and the church ends up getting sued over one thing or another, or worse. They are applying human strategies, not God’s plans.
They may be drawing people in, but they’re doing it on a soulical level. They’re “converting” them soulically, when they need to be born again. Now I’m not against outreaches. Outreaches are good, you need to reach out because you know the world isn’t reaching in. I’m saying if it is not birthed of the Spirit, born of God, it’s not going to keep people in the end.
Charles Finney, who Dr. Kenneth E Hagin called ‘the greatest Evangelist since Paul’, was renowned for not only getting people saved, but the people he led to the Lord stayed saved. Someone once asked what his secret was and he just replied, “I get up at 4 in the morning and pray. I pray from 4 in the morning until 8 in the morning.” Prayer is the key – to get the plan of God. But he was renowned for getting people saved and those people staying saved. And the only thing that is going to keep people saved is the Holy Ghost. We have to consider not just getting people saved, but keeping people saved, and our strategies and plans won’t do that.
If it’s not of God, throw it out. The only way that it is going to work is by doing it God’s way. Find out what the Word of God says to do, then do it. That’s what Finney did. That’s what men and women of God who have tremendous results do. They are led by the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, just like we have to be. And the way they do that is to pray.
Most people however say that they’re too busy to pray. However, look at where those people are. I’m not knocking anyone or putting anyone down now. I’m just saying look at the person who is too busy to pray compared to the person who understands the importance of prayer and does it. In the days we are living in, if you’re so busy you can’t pray, that’s just another reason to pray!
If you’re going to reach the world, you have to understand that there are two ways to do it. The first way is doing it by your plan, man’s plans. You may have some success, but you won’t have major, lasting success like you will with God’s plan. But with God’s plan, you will have lasting success, major success because it is God’s plan and He knows what will work, when it will work, and how to work it.
To read more about HOW TO REACH THE WORLD, download the November 2011 newsletter here and read the article by Rev. Randall Grier.
Also, check out the RGM Store for the series by Rev. Grier How To Reach An Area, A City, A Region, Or A City.
