Going on a Treasure Hunt

Do you have a desire to be challenged and inspired to take risks and realize the Great Commission in an exciting way? Over the next few posts I will share with you some ideas on how to go on "The Ultimate Treasure Hunt." I will be sharing from a book with the same name written by Kevin Dedmon. Hopefully in the next few weeks you will be sharing with me stories of how the Holy Spirit led you to a specific person who He wanted to have an encounter with. If you take up this challenge you will not only be a part of life changing experiences but have fun doing so.

I encourage you to purchase your own copy of the book, "The Ultimate Treasure Hunt."

It is a guide to Supernatural Evangelism through Supernatural encounters. The Ultimate Treasure Hunt is about supernatural encounters. It is about learning to live a naturally supernatural Kingdom lifestyle, in which miracles, physical healing, the prophetic, and setting people free are normal occurrences, as we release the presence and power of the Kingdom of God to the people we know and meet every day.

As a pastor one of my key jobs is to equip, empower, and releasing believers to live a naturally supernatural lifestyle using their gifts in service to others. I will be using this book to share with you how you can engage the Holy Spirit in your life and touch the lives of people He wants to through you.

This book is not about arguing someone into confessing Jesus. It is not about coming up with the right answers to convince someone to agree with your particular doctrine. It is simple a tool to be used in helping you be the hands and feet of Jesus as He draws someone to the Father.

Skeptical?  You should be! If you are like me you have watched men and women stand on stages proclaiming that they are God's instruments of healing. This is not what we will be doing. We are going to simply ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us key things to look for in searching for the person (the Treasure) He wants to encounter. The important thing to remember is searching for the Treasure is not about you but about God and what He wants to do in someone else's life. If you have accepted Jesus as your savior and King then He wants to use you in touching the lives of others. IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU! IT IS ABOUT HIM!

If you are interested in being involved in finding lost treasure you will be involved in what Luke describes in Luke 15: 8-10 Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she'll call her friends and neighbors: 'Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!' Count on it—that's the kind of party God's angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God."

I encourage you to pray about this and ask the Holy Spirit to first show you if you should try this. I believe He will give you a supernatural answer through some form of encouragement. Come back several times this week and I will have new posts on getting started.

I am expecting God to move in a mighty way in your community because you risked being involved in the Great Commission. A Treasure is waiting for you to find it.

FREE Hot Dogs! - Real or A Gimmick

Let me share with you two accounts of an Evangelism event and you choose which is more like what happened in Mark 6: 33-43.

A crowd gathered as a group of people cooked and prepared to hand out hot dogs. A sign hung hear to the cook that read, "FREE Hot Dogs!" The people eagerly waited for the moment they would hold one of the freshly cooked dogs and taking that first bite. The crowd knew this event happened every year around the same date. They knew they would get a dog, chips and a drink and they could continue their way to the shopping center. They had heard from others how this group every year gave out free hot dogs and then would leave immediately afterwards. Each year the community read in the paper what this group did at the local shopping center.

Across town another group of people were cooking and preparing to hand out hot dogs to a crowed that had gathered in anticipation having read the sign "FREE Hot Dogs!" The people eagerly waited for the moment they would hold one of the freshly cooked dogs and taking that first bite. The crowd knew this event happened every year around the same date. They knew they would get a dog, chips and a drink but also a word of encouragement with an offer of prayer or they could continue their way to the shopping center. They had heard from others how this group every year gave out free hot dogs and stayed around to meet the needs of those that came for the dogs. Each year the community heard from the people who had experienced healing, or who had received counseling or who had heard an encouraging word about what this group did at the local shopping center.

Mark 6: 33-34 From the surrounding towns people went out on foot, running, and got there ahead of them. When Jesus arrived, he saw this huge crowd. At the sight of them, his heart broke—like sheep with no shepherd they were. He went right to work teaching them. 

Later in this chapter Jesus has the disciples feed the people. The example is food can draw the people but Evangelism is more that handing out a hot dog. It involves the hard work of dealing with life problems in a way that people know you are genuine and that you care more about them than them coming to your church. If they know that what you are doing is purely to grow the numbers at your worship services. They might come to services once because they feel obligated but they necessarily will not become committed unless they receive what they need that will draw them back.

The difference in the two groups described above is one meets the need of physical hunger but the other goes beyond meeting physical needs to meeting emotional and spiritual needs. The latter group is following Jesus' example and we see people responding as those who responded to the compassion of Christ.

If you are involved in a church that does evangelism I encourage you to take the time to meet the emotional, spiritual and physical needs of people and you will not have to worry about your numbers. People want to be a part of a group where they feel genuinely welcomed and cared for. People are drawn by the Natural Supernatural act of meeting needs and hearing the word in a natural way without churchy speak. 

Suggested Books:

"Gentle Persuasion" by Joseph C. Aldrich

"Naturally Supernatural" by Gary Best

"Without Walls" by Randy White

"Power Evangelism" by John Wimber Online