by

Frank B. Smith

"To Betty,

with whom I try to live out a picture of

Jesus and the Church

First printing, June 1986

CONTENTS

Foreword by Gayle D. Erwin

Introduction

Then will I teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Ps.51:13

1. FIRST THINGS FIRST [Repentance]

Why So Subnormal?

A Vision of Christian Work

Spiritual Reproduction

Conception

Birth

Little Ones

Impartation

Motivation

Psalm 51

RECRUITMENT [Prayer]

Being Sent

Pray

The Pattern

Prayer for Workers

TRAINING [Discipleship]

Man’s Way

God’s Way

Blood

Follow Me

Self Denial

The Cross

Follow On

Jesus’ Pattern

Hearing

Seeing

TESTIMONY [Love]

Love

Eros

Phileo

Agape

God Hates Sinners

Agape

Gives All

Values

Vulnerable

Faithful

As

Marriage

Submitted to the Best

Not Separated

Responds to God

Truth

Stones have the power to speak, according to Jesus, but only if the voices of people do not praise the Lord. This book is such an overflow of praise from Frank Smith that there seems little likelihood that the rocks will make noise any time soon. In these pages you will see the accumulated understandings of his years of service with some strong feelings and positions that have come from that experience. Don’t misunderstand my use of the word, "strong." These are not the positions of a stubborn or relentlessly aggressive man. On the contrary, they have come from the heart of a gentleman who has seen clearly, suffered pain, and come to rest where he feels God is.

As you read this you will know that Frank Smith loves God and people and you will find yourself drawn to both God and people. The chapter entitled "Guaranteed Results" is alone worth the price of the book. I predict that you will be underlining much in that chapter and will be giving copies to your friends to share the insight Smith shares with us.

Gayle D. Erwin

I believe that the end of the age is upon us. It is an unprecedented time for genuine Biblical evangelism. I pray that God will use this book to serve His purposes in the great harvest I pray also that those who read this will be jolted and thrust God-ward in their approach to evangelism and all aspects of the Christian life.

A great deal of Christianity in America is like groups of little children running here and there frantically trying to get God on their side. This book is for those who want to get on God's side.

Jesus said, "I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it." John 12:49. After Jesus conquered death He said, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." John 20:21.He told Philip, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." John 14:9. May it be said of each of us, "Anyone who has seen me has seen Jesus."

When we enter into our love relationship with Jesus we acknowledge that He is the Lord, we are His subjects. He is the Master, we are His servants. We become parts of His Body joined to Christ our Head, Who can direct us any way He wants. May He command us by His Spirit what to say and how to say it.

If on one of my many browsings through Christian Bookstores I happened on a Book titled Ultimate Evangelism I would immediately think, "My, what an arrogant title." Arrogance and pride are ugly. God hates them, and I am on a pilgrimage that includes crucifying pride.

Repentance

FIRST THINGS FIRST

"Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners

will turn back to you." Ps. 51:13.

Begin at the beginning. You can, of course, begin anywhere - like Star Wars - and then come back and do the beginning at the end, or in the middle. My experience has been that I do better when I begin at the beginning. When I start wrong, I usually have to undo a lot that was done and sometimes it's even necessary to scrap everything and start right all over again.

We begin our Christian life by receiving the finished, unimprovable, impeccable work of salvation. It is a gift. There is no other way. Like creation it is God's gift to man. What did man do to obtain creation? How hard did he strive to gain his life? What mighty things did he have to do to earn the stewardship of the earth? The answer is he didn't do anything. God did it all!

All Christian work has a proper beginning! We begin where God has finished. God has done, and is doing a marvelous work. Even today the Lamb of God is freshly slain. This day His blood is powerful to cleanse and renew. To be restored to the original and eternal purposes of God, one must enter through the finished work of the Lord Jesus.

In the process of receiving the finished work of Christ, God gives us a spirit of repentance. We desire to be close to Him. We turn away from the system of life that is organized around man, or money, or self, or fame, or, or, or, - anything that is not God.

We repent. We repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand. We repent, and are baptized. We repent, lest we also perish. We repent and turn to God. We repent because He commands all people everywhere to repent.

To repent is to turn around. Don't make it more complicated than it is. Repent means turn around. If you're heading north and God says, "Repent," turn around and head south. If you're entering into a relationship and God says, "Repent," turn around and head away from it. If you're heading away from a relationship and God says, "Repent," turn around and head back into it.

We are living in Bible times. These days are clearly spoken of in the Scriptures. What we are to do and how we are to do it are clearly outlined for us. Yet fear causes us to make excuses.

In James 5, we are given the formula to follow when a Christian is sick. The elders of the church are to be called, oil is applied to the sick person, and they are to be healed. If they have committed any sins, they will be forgiven.

Healing is the children's bread. It is our portion. Why then is this such a rare happening today? Why isn't healing the normal thing for Christians? Why is the church so subnormal? Why isn't the pattern that God sets forth through His servant James followed by all who believe the Bible?

I believe it is because of lack of repentance, incomplete repentance, unconcern about Jesus and His desires, ignored repentance. Beloved, we all need to begin today by repenting for our individual and corporate sin. The sin of trying to save our lives and succumbing to fear.

Fear is a dreaded enemy. Fear is a giant in the land to be destroyed. Fear is an enemy already defeated by Jesus. Our work is to stop allowing fear to keep us from praying for healing, turn around, anoint the sick with oil in the name of the Lord Jesus and ask Him to heal them. Fear is behind not following James' prescription.

If I as an elder in the Body of Christ come and anoint you with oil in the name of the Lord and pray for your healing, and you don't get healed, I'll look like a jerk. I don't want to look like a jerk. I want to be honored and respected, a credit to the holy ministry, a professional.

Father God I repent and choose now to follow You and pray for the sick no matter what I may look like. I choose to give Your children their bread. I am sorry for the times I was afraid to call on Your mercy. Forgive us for shutting up the compassion for Your people that You place from Jesus' heart into our hearts.

Why are the gifts of the Spirit not as visible today as they were in the Book of Acts? (It doesn't count that they are as visible in some sectors of the Church; remember, there is only one Church.) I have been reading about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the signs that follow. I have read Evangelicals, Fundamentalists, Charismatics, Pentecostals, Traditionalists all telling what's wrong. Why this isn't for today, or why we don't experience it the way we should today, or why some receive and some don't, or why this is part of the original package at baptism, or why this is a second work of grace, or why, or why... (We are certainly excellent apologists when explaining our shortcomings!) Our problem is not in understanding our life in Christ or what to do, our problem is a lack of love for God and His people that shows itself in a lack of repentance.

The Peter Package, presented at the Day of Pentecost, begins with "Repent". When we began this walk with Jesus as children of God, most of us repented, sort of. Most of us raised our hand, or signed the card, or took a class, or came up front. Then most of us sought the Kingdom of God, sort of, and tried hard to live for Jesus and still go for the gusto - the good life. We forsook all to follow Jesus, sort of. We denied ourselves, sort of, and took up our cross, sort of, and followed Jesus, sort of.

Most of us settled into a compartmentalized life. We lived our regular life most of the time, and then we went to "church." This was something like punching a time clock, going in, putting in the required time, and then "punching out". The religious glaze would soon leave our eyes after getting into the fresh air, and we would be back to living life.

Father God I'm sorry for this kind of mockery of the life You gave me. I'm sorry that I started the Christian life less than totally sold out for the Kingdom. I'm sorry Father and I turn towards You. Please give me a spirit of repentance to match the desire of my heart right now - that You are my hope, You are my goal, You are my future, You are my security, You are the center of my life, You are my reason for living, You are the focal point of my life. My life is Your life, I give it to you again, fresh and totally. Do with me whatever You wish.

A good example of repentance at the beginning, or at least towards the beginning of the Christian life is the people of Ephesus who turned from dumb idols to the living God. Paul said in his letter:

Imagine what would happen today in any city if those who believed in Jesus gathered all the humanist garbage, astrological junk, pornographic filth, demon glorifying things and burned them publicly. (I get goose bumps just thinking what would happen.)

A few years ago in our fellowship we experienced much emphasis on "The City of God". We would sing Psalm 87 at almost every gathering, "City, 0 City, 0 City of God, glorious things are spoken of thee..." During that season, I had a significant vision regarding my work together with God in His City.

I saw this magnificent city with buildings of all sizes and shapes. The city was large and beautiful. The various buildings all fit together from tallest skyscrapers to the smallest structures. My attention was drawn to a small one room building. The building had the marks and feeling of glory, yet it looked like a shack -almost a shed.

The little shanty-like building was obviously my place of labor -my life, my call, etc. When compared to the rest of the city, it appeared insignificant. (Don't make carnal comparisons in the City of God.) Yet it belonged and had obvious destiny.

The building was primarily white - maybe not white, but a color of light. It was like soft-white light bulbs with a dimmer switch turned down to the point that the light was still white, yet hardly glowing. When the light of the glory of God shines there with His full appearing - how brilliant it will be!

Lord, put Your eye-salve on our eyes that we may see Your glory as did Peter, James and John on the mount.

In the beautiful, light colored, little building, there were some things that did not belong there! They were black - maybe not black, but a color of darkness. It was like patches of the darkness that enfolds you in a cavern when the tour leader turns out the lights. When the light of God is removed from the domain of darkness - how dark it will be!

Lord, teach us to love the light, to walk in the light, to be children of light.

There was a dark curtain. I removed it. The room grew. There was a dark board nailed upon the door. I removed it. The room grew. There was a table and lamp. The table was light, the lamp was dark. I removed the lamp. The room grew. There was a dark switch plate on the wall. I removed it together with yards and yards of a dark wire connected to it. The room, by now a building, grew. It grew up and out. It began to grow and glow and look to be more a part of the City, though it was always a part.

It grew only as I removed darkness. I did not add things to the structure to increase its size. I did not paint or hammer or clean. I only removed darkness. That was my labor, and my labor was not in vain for every time the darkness was cast out, the building grew. As it grew, more darkness was revealed. It appeared that the light would triumph, yet in the vision there was always some darkness there.

Evangelism is spiritual reproduction. Healthy sheep will beget more sheep. (We have a strange corruption in the church today where we expect the shepherds to reproduce sheep.)

Jesus spoke about this in the context of seed being reproduced - seed planted in the ground, dying, and coming up in multiplied form. The seed is both the message of the good news and also the very lives of the sons of the Kingdom. Here He is speaking of grain or fruit. The process is pollinating, dying, and being reformed in the earth so that new, multiplied seed emerges.

Jesus also speaks of being born again in reference to human reproduction. Nicodemus understood what was being alluded to when he responded to Jesus with the comment about entering his mother's womb a second time. This process of Spirit giving birth to spirit follows the pattern of first the natural and then the spiritual.

There is a planting of the seed through a love relationship. (God forgive us for planting the seed of the gospel in any manner except love.) Then the process of growth within, or the term of pregnancy, and lastly the birthing of the precious life.

I believe that much of what is called being born again is really the act of union, the receiving of Jesus in an embryonic form within - into my heart - and the beginning of the pregnancy. I think that's what happened to Nicodemus that night spoken of in John 3. Then the birthing took place sometime later before he and Joseph of Aramathea came and took the body of Jesus from the cross.

When people hear the incredible good news of Jesus, and they respond with, "Lord Jesus come into my heart," He does, and they're pregnant. A love relationship has been entered into and an embryo is forming and growing in the life of the beloved.

It seems that sometimes there is a miscarriage or abortion. Sometimes it's an easy pregnancy. Sometimes it's tough with lots of morning sickness and total disruption of the usual way of life. Then comes the birth. It's different from the conception.

Birth

At conception and during the pregnancy the main concern is self. Lord, come into my heart. Make me into the person You want me to be. Jesus take care of me. Forgive me. Grant me health. Give me Your Spirit.

At birth, when the new life is actually experienced, it is no longer I, but Christ within me. It is new life, new hope, new image, new goals, new everything, and everything centers in Him and His Kingdom, not in me and my kingdom. I have no idea how long the normal spiritual pregnancy lasts, but I suspect that some are short, and some are long.

Babies are easily infected. Little ones are vulnerable and need special care.

Delivery rooms are best when they're clean. Modern hospital delivery rooms are sterile. Alternate birth rooms are also sanitary, though less formal and less sterile. Home births are done in as clean an environment as possible. Mid-wives wash and clean themselves lest they infect the vulnerable new-born with earthly things they cannot handle as yet. They will be strong enough some day to actually eat dirt (as all children seem to do in the growing-up process), but the new-born must be protected. He is not ready yet.

It is good and godly for a mid-wife to have a garden and work in the soil, but she must wash her hands before assisting in the birth. Little ones are easily stumbled or offended. (In fact if you are easily offended or provoked it is a pretty good indication that you need to grow up.) It's O.K. for a new-born to be so vulnerable to offenses, but woe to the one who offends him.

I have complete liberty in Christ. I can take my liberty in Him, and eat meat with the mature and handle some things that children cannot. But woe unto me when I demand my liberty, or flaunt my Christian privileges before these vulnerable little ones and thereby rightly earn the anger of God.

All life comes from God. All life is His creation. Now however, life comes through corrupted human vessels so that life and death are passed on together. This is why evangelism is crucial.

All people need to be born again. All people need to pass from death to life. All people need to become a part of His new creation, or the contamination of death will destroy them eternally.

The human or earthly means through which life comes are like filters. As well as imparting both life and death to my children, I also affect what they look like, how large they are in stature, how they react to given situations in life, how much they laugh, what kinds of attitudes they have about life, etc. etc. Some of this comes by heredity and some through the environment we supply.

The bottom line is this: I impart much of what I am to my children. The health and characteristics of the plant that produced the seed will effect the health and characteristics of the new plant. Like parents, like children. Like shepherd, like sheep. Like evangelists, like new disciples. We impart what we really are.

Offspring are like their parents. Children pattern themselves after their parents whether they want to or not. Parents should periodically tell their children, "Whenever you're in a situation where you don't know what to do, just try to imagine what I would do, and do that." This is an excellent approach because the children are going to do it that way anyway, and the parents will be shocked into realizing that they are giving a pattern of behavior for their children. Like it or not, this is the way it is.

Therefore, do what is right. Do those things that God has said to do. Repent of all the things that are contrary to the clear direction of God. Remove every cause of offense and stumbling from your life so that your progeny will not repeat your errors, or exaggerate them. Let the pure seed of Christ within you be reproduced a hundredfold in the lives of your natural and spiritual children.

Picture this scenario. A family reacts to change and stress with noise, confusion, irritability, unreasonableness, arguing, blameshifting, fear, and all the other symptoms of unbelief. The parents tell their children to have faith in God; trust in the Lord and He will take care of them. They say that Jesus rules everything and He loves them. They speak words to their children to have faith. Now, which word will grow in the fields of the lives of their children? The word spoken with the mouth, but far away in their hearts? Or the word that has become flesh in their lives and actions?

These loving parents are hypocrites! These parents, who desire to do right, are pretenders. Too harsh? Beloved it fits us, and we need to be washed and forgiven regularly for our hypocrisy. All of us need to be changed day by day into His likeness and image. This sin is one of the worst.

A hypocrite is a masked one. The word comes from the Greek word for the smiling face or the sad frowning face that Greek actors put in front of their own faces to depict the action of the drama. Those masks were called "hypocrites." Any time we hide behind a mask, or pretend, or let the words we speak and the lives we live conflict, we are hypocrites.

The church is full of hypocrites. If you're not part of the church, don't let the hypocrites keep you away. There's always room for one more. Come join with the rest of us hypocrites and try together to speak the truth in love for building up. Come and help us in our life and death struggle against all hypocrisy which continually rears its ugly head. Come and be a part of a fellowship where we are committed to honesty and integrity in relationships, so we can try to help each other. Come on in, check your masks at the door, and help us leave them behind when we go out to live our lives in the world.

To the degree that we are scared, no matter how much we hypocritically say about courage, we will impart fear. To the degree we are in despair, no matter how much we hypocritically talk about hope, we will impart hopelessness. To the degree that we are in conflict, no matter how much we hypocritically talk about peace, we will impart anxiety.

This is reality. This is truth. Hypocrisy aids in the spread of the kingdom of him who came to kill and steal and destroy. Hypocrisy imparts evil.

It is also true, beloved, that we can impart life and salvation in spite of our fear, or bitterness, or doubts as we honestly share the truth about our own weaknesses and the greater truth about God's strength. The truth in love will build up. The truth will teach that we are accepted in Jesus in all our weakness and sin, and that God loves us enough to help us and guide us that we might change into His likeness. The foundation of the Christian life is still the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ.

In chapter three we will deal with motivation. But let me say here that our primary motivation to do evangelism, to speak the gospel of Jesus Christ, is that Jesus told us to do it. We said that evangelism is crucial because death has passed on all people, and if a person steps into eternity without being one with God through faith in Jesus, he will die forever. He will exist in some kind of death, some kind of separation from God forever. That place is called hell.

Jesus died this death for us. In our baptisms we share this death with Him, but we also share His resurrection. We rose from death to life with Jesus on that first resurrection morning. The need of all people to be saved from death, and the meeting of that need in Jesus is a strong motivator, but it is not primary.

Beloved Christian brother or sister, don't be a fool! Don't try to hold on to something that is wrong. Don't try to justify your lack of witnessing, or your lifestyle before God. Turn from your wicked and evil ways.

Turn from selfishness. Turn from doing your own thing. Turn from your pride and arrogance and fear. Turn from the foolishness of thinking that you know better than God. Jesus is standing right now at the door of your heart and invites you to repent, just as He did your brothers and sisters in Laodicea:

Hear His voice beloved. This scripture that we have all used so much with unbelievers was spoken to Christians. Jesus right now is still speaking to us to repent. He wants us to be successful in evangelism more than we do. He desires our longings to be fulfilled. Therefore repent! Do the first work of evangelism. Start at the beginning. Follow His plan.

Have mercy on me, 0 God, according to your unfailing love;

according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge

Surely I have been a sinner from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean, wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness, let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

Create in me a pure heart, 0 God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.

Save me from bloodguilt, 0 God, the God who saves me,

and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

O Lord, open my lips,