If Louisiana Baptists hope to reach the world for Christ,
they must understand they are fighting a spiritual battle and use a spiritual
weapon to win, David Uth said recently.
“If we try to win people to Christ using the means of
the world, we will never see a harvest,” Uth said during a dinner prior
to the recent Louisiana Baptist Great Commission Prayer Conference in Ruston.
Editors Note: The following article is from addresses
related to the recent Louisiana Baptist Great Commission Prayer Conference.
In upcoming weeks, the Baptist Message will present articles related to the
conference. This article is based on an address delivered by David Uth at a
dinner just prior to the two-day conference. Uth is pastor at First Baptist
Church of West Monroe. This article was written by LBM Associate Editor C. Lacy
Thompson.
If Louisiana Baptists hope to reach the world for Christ,
they must understand they are fighting a spiritual battle and use a spiritual
weapon to win, David Uth said recently.
“If we try to win people to Christ using the means of
the world, we will never see a harvest,” Uth said during a dinner prior
to the recent Louisiana Baptist Great Commission Prayer Conference in Ruston.
“We will see decisions – but not disciples.”
Instead, the key is to reclaim the reverence and presence of
God through prayer, emphasized Uth, pastor at First Baptist Church of West Monroe.
“If we ever (do that), we will see many come by faith in Christ.”
Uth pointed out that when Saul left Jerusalem after the stoning
of Stephen, he was convinced he was dead right about the burgeoning Christian
faith.
“He had heard all the rhetoric of the Christian movement.
But what was it that changed him forever? It was when he saw Jesus. When he
saw Jesus, he knew that he had been wrong. And I believe that what we have to
pray is that in our worship, we quit playing games at the foot of the cross,
that we begin to experience a living God tabernacling with his people.
“Its a witness to a lost world that our God is alive.”
Perhaps, the problem is that Christians have forgotten that
God is almighty, reigns over all and has all in control, Uth said.
“Our God can do anything,” the Louisiana Baptist
pastor noted. “He can do anything. … So, what or why have we not seen
a movement of God to bring people to himself.”
The key is to learn how to pray for the lost, Uth said, suggesting
that the problem is not a lack of desire to pray but a lack of knowledge about
how to pray.
“If we started praying as (God has) taught us, … would
that make a difference? I think it will.”
Uth urged persons attending the dinner to focus on two things
– the realization that lost people have a spiritual problem and the understanding
that the subsequent battle must be fought with a spiritual weapon.
He reminded persons that salvation represents a supernatural
work – and that Christians are called to make disciples, not to simply
record decisions.
Scripture teaches lost people are bound, Uth said.
“There is something spiritual going on in them. It is
not just a matter of you presenting the gospel in a slick, clever way. … It
is the Spirit of God that quickens and brings them to Christ. What they are
experiencing is a bondage in their lives. … Theyre in bondage.”
In addition, lost persons are blind and simply cannot see the
light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Uth continued.
“When you talk about Jesus coming and dying, you would
think – my goodness, who would say no? But Paul says: Theyre
blind. They dont see what you see. They dont understand what you
understand. …
“So, until they open their eyes, until God opens those
eyes, then, theyll never see and understand what you and I have seen and
understood. … The first work of the Spirit is to open blind eyes, to give
sight.”
If that is the problem, then it must be fought with spiritual
means, Uth emphasized.
“We can get decisions,” he acknowledged. “If
thats what we want – just people walking down the aisle – we
can make that happen. There are ways to make that happen.
“But thats not what he called us to do. That is
not a supernatural work. Salvation is a supernatural work. It is the Spirit
of God only that brings people to salvation and understanding – only. So,
we fight with spiritual weapons.”
The early church did not have all that modern Christians have
as far as technology, Uth noted.
But they had the weapon of prayer and knew how to use it –
and they won their world to faith in Christ, he pointed out.
“They won their world on their knees. They fought on their
knees, …” Uth stressed. “Cappuccino and contemporary is not going
to change anybodys life. If you think that just starting a service where
you have contemporary music and you throw a little Cappuccino machine in the
mix is going to bring people to Christ, its not going to happen. …
“It is not what brings people to Christ. It may be what
brings them in the building. But theres only one thing that brings them
to Jesus – and that is the Spirit of the living God.”
Thus, the key is to pray for God to work, for him to bind the
enemy in peoples lives and to open their eyes to the work of the cross,
to understand the cross, he insisted.
That will bring the power of God, Uth said.
“It is about a power that is in a room when lost people
are present,” he emphasized in urging people to pray specifically for God
to see people free and help them see. “It is a power that goes with a witness
when we knock on that door. It is about a power that is bigger than you and
bigger than me. It is about a power that breaks the strongholds and can open
blind eyes.
“So, what is the weapon?
“Its prayer. …
“If we just would pray, what a difference it would make.”