Pastor's Portion for August, 2009   Hanging Out With Sinners

"When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.' So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, 'He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'" Luke 19:5-7

Jesus modeled four things when He lived on the earth that allowed Him to impact other people's lives. We can call them the Four B's of Transformation.

First, he built a relationship with them. We seldom have a positive effect on people without building a relationship first. My Sister had a sign in the backroom of her Beauty Shop years ago which said, "People don't care what you know until they know that you care." That's still true today. Jesus modeled this in His life every day of his public ministry.

The second thing Jesus did was he blessed them. He tried to meet a physical need they had. Many times he healed them first, and then He told them to go and sin no more. He listened to their concerns.

The third thing Jesus did was He began praying for them. He often prayed for deliverance for a person that was demon possessed. He prayed they would know the Father. He prayed for Lazarus to come back from the dead.

Finally, the fourth thing Jesus did was He brought the Kingdom of God into their lives. He invited people to believe in Him as the Savior of the world and to partake of eternal life.

An acquaintance of mine decided to test this idea on a non-Christian friend. He intentionally refused to talk about Jesus until he'd accomplished the first three steps in their relationship. After he'd fulfilled the first three steps, he presented Christ to his friend. He accepted Christ immediately because the soil was prepared and he was ready to receive. 

As you consider your ministry, consider these four stages of relationship building before you present Christ to others. You will find the fruit of this process will be great.           Love, Pastor C