We must always keep in mind the lost and dying world around us. Everyone around us needs to be ministered to, because every human being has needs. Many people don’t know that God loves them, cares for them and wants to meet their every need. Our job, as believers is to go tell them about the love of God and share it with them by reaching out and giving a hand to those in need.

Ask God to give you the words to say, then in faith, step out and invite an individual, a family, a coworker, a neighbor, or even a total stranger to come to church. Show them that you care, and that you’ve got their best interest at heart. Let them see your heart’s desire is for them to be blessed and to receive all that God has for them.

When you see people at church that you don’t know, introduce yourself and share your Christian love and friendship with them, for the world needs to see that we love and care for them. Then, God will bless all our endeavors.

I got saved one Sunday night, and the following day, I encountered the first people that I really witnessed to. That Monday, the guys that I worked with and I went to eat at a place where construction guys ate lunch. I walked in, and there were two businessmen sitting in a booth. One was Mr. Baldwin, who owned Baldwin Sporting Goods in our town. The other was Mr. Edwards, who owned Clyde Edwards Shoe Store; they made shoes for handicapped people. They knew me because I had gone to school with their kids.

I already told the guys that I was walking in with that I’d gotten saved the night before. So I looked at Mr. Edwards and Mr. Baldwin, and I said, "I got saved last night." Cynically, he said, "Saved from what?" When he asked that, everybody stopped eating and looked at me to listen to what I was going to say. I didn’t know what to say; I didn’t know any verses. I just knew that the night before, I found out that I was going to hell. I was shocked to find out that I wasn’t a Christian because I went to church. But if that were the case, you’d just need to build churches and Jesus didn’t need to have come. God gave His only begotten Son. If there had been some other way that He could have done it, He would have.

They all stopped and looked at me. He said, "Saved from what?" I said, "S-s-saved from...hell." And both of those men---Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Clyde Edwards---ducked their heads in reverence and conviction, and said, "Good for you, Jesse." These two men are the first people I really witnessed to after I talked to the guys I worked with.

I didn’t know any scripture, so now I wanted to find out what the Bible said. So, I bought a Bible and the Bible on cassette tape and started listening to it. I’d write verses of scripture down. I’d have salvation scriptures, prayer, healing and miracle scriptures, and I’d share them with other people. I’d find somebody that was saved, and the Lord would have me share, for example, scriptures on being baptized in the Holy Ghost.

I put bumper stickers about Jesus on my van and on my toolbox lids--both the inside and outside lids. One very wealthy and snobbish lady came in when I was carpeting her house and walked down the hallway to where my toolbox was. She saw the bumper sticker inside the lid, saying, "Jesus is coming." It made her angry, so she took her high-heel spectator shoe and kicked the lid down. And the outside said, "He’s still coming."

I was a traveling billboard for Jesus. I wore a huge lapel pin that said, "The Rapture" on it. I put "Jesus" on everything I could find, letting people know. I signed my name on all my checks with the word, "Saved" underneath my signature. A teller at the bank asked real loud one day, "Saved---what does that mean?" She asked, so I told her what it meant. She wished she hadn’t asked, but I didn’t want any body not to know about Jesus. I went all of my life without knowing that you had to be saved to get to heaven. I may not have been real thrilled to go to heaven, but I sure didn’t want to go to hell. I wanted people to know, and I still do. I didn’t want there to be anyone who knew me, who did not know Jesus. So every night, if I would get off work in time, I would go someplace and preach. I’d stand on the street corners, in front of bars and cinemas and follow people to their cars...I was a spiritual stalker for souls, to bring them into the kingdom of God.

There are plenty of places to minister. Sometimes the Lord would lead me on my job to talk to someone about being baptized in the Holy Ghost, or receiving healing in their life. Every day, I was working in several houses. Sometimes I’d work in only one, but I could work in as many as eight houses a day. That would cover a lot of territory. Then, I would walk down the hospital hallways until I felt led to go into a room. I’d walk into a room and ask the question, "Does anybody in this room need a miracle?" You get all kinds of answers and all kinds of opposition. The devil will rise up.

I was in a hospital room one day to pray for somebody and the nurse got very upset, because we were in there praying. Even though I did it reverently and without confusion, the spirit that was in her hated that prayer. If you have power, the devil knows it, and he doesn’t want that prayer to come forth. The devil knows who’s got power and who doesn’t, so people who’ve got a devil are afraid to be around the power. If you’ve got a demon in you, he’s going to be very uncomfortable around the Name of Jesus and the Spirit of God. I learned a lot just by going into places like that to minister.

Then, I would go to the jail every week. I wanted to go every day, but they’d only let me in once a week. If I were an ordained minister, I would be allowed in every day. When I first went to see about ministering in the jail, the sheriff told me, "We’ve got this organization that comes in on Sundays and if you could get in with them, you can come when they do." I said, "What is this organization?" He named it and I thought, "Two of my three brothers are members of this organization." This organization puts Bibles in hotel rooms, and each one has the potential of reaching 24,000 people in its lifetime. They also give out Bibles to people in the military and in the prisons. My brother got me in with this organization, and I would go into the jail with them each Sunday.

Initially, the leaders of this organization told me, "You can come in with us, but you can’t say anything about speaking in tongues or miracles." I didn’t agree that I wouldn’t. I just stood there and smiled in all of the right places, and they said, "Do you want to come next Sunday?" I said, "No, I want to come this Sunday." Why wait? The door of opportunity had opened up.

I would go, and one of these guys would give their testimony, and all of the 150 to 200 guys in jail would all be listening, and I’d watch the crowd. I’d wait until people would raise their hands to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior, and after the sinner’s prayer, I’d go over to the one that I felt led to go to. I’d squat next to him in front of the bars and reach my hand in there and introduce myself: "I’m Jesse Rich. What’s your name?" Sometimes they still had a real attitude, swearing and stuff. I’d ask, "Do you know what you just did when you prayed the sinner’s prayer?" If they didn’t quite understand, I’d tell them what they did, and explain it to them. Then, I’d usually ask, "Do you need God to do a miracle for you?" They’d always tell me what they needed. The top three requests were: they didn’t have any money; they hadn’t heard from their attorney since they’d been in jail; or they hadn’t seen their wife. Then, I’d just say, "Well, let’s pray and believe God, and agree, that by this time next week, you’ll see your wife, or you’ll hear from your attorney, or you’ll get that rent money. Now, will you agree that if this happens, it’ll be a miracle?" Many times, they’d swear and say, "God Himself couldn’t move on my old lady, to bring her in here."

Then, the next week, I’d go in and that’s the person I’d be looking for. I’d pull them over next to the bars, and ask, "So, what happened?" They’d go on, "Oh, man, my old lady came in here three times last week, since you prayed!" Or they’d tell about how they got the money for the rent. I’d remind them that they had said that God Himself couldn’t do this miracle, and I’d say, "But I told you, He would! He did that because He loves you." So I’d show them some scriptures in their Bible that they could pray themselves and use after they are moved or released.

You see, when you get saved, you want to do the work of an evangelist. I was no preacher---I was just a carpet installer---but every day, I’d share Jesus with somebody. God will train and equip you to go forth and share the message. I’d carry a little bottle of oil with me. In James, it says, "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church..." I didn’t wait for the inmates to call; I’d call upon them, and read them scriptures and show them that they could be healed through the anointing of oil and the prayer of faith in the Name of the Lord. The prayer of faith shall save the sick and the Lord shall raise him up. I’d open up my Bible and show them what James said, and I’d carry a little bottle of oil with me. This was the beginning of the Lord using me.

God trains us and we’re to disciple others and bring them into the family of God. You can knock on doors...when you do, the devil will tell your head, ‘‘This is not your ministry...’ The people may accept it, or they may not. Those men talked to me about Jesus and I didn’t accept it, and they left. We parted company, but something that stayed with me was conviction. They just kept saying, "What about Jesus?" In other words, "Jesse, all of these people have done you wrong, but has Jesus ever done you wrong?" And they read scripture for me from the Bible about being saved.

You want to have a heart that you want to work for God: that you want to be about the Father’s business, building His kingdom; bringing people into His kingdom. How can people know without a preacher? It’s our responsibility, each one of us as believers, not to hide our Christian life underneath a bushel. It’s to be lived where everyone can see it---Jesus is to be shouted from the housetops. Jesus Christ is the most valuable gift in life, and the new birth and salvation. When you get saved, you become a child of God. In the Old Testament, on your best day, you were a servant of God. But when you get saved, you become a child of God! Just as Jesus is a child of God, you become a child of God. You’re grafted in, and God becomes your Father. God is God to the world, but He’s my Father. And He promised He would take care of you. And you learn in witnessing. You learn more about the Bible when you share with others. You give out the scripture that you know. When Mr. Edwards asked me, "Saved from what?" I just told what knowledge I had - I remembered that last night, they preached a message about hell fire and brimstone.

Let’s say we’re in a room, and the room has one door. If the building catches on fire, we need to go out that door. You may not like the idea that they built the hotel and put one door in, but thank God there’s one doorway out! And God made a provision and He made a way out when He gave His Son. He gave us a mediator and we can receive Christ. And when we do, we need to tell everybody about it! At the appropriate time, God will anoint you to share with someone about Jesus. If you keep it a secret, you get cold, but you need to tell somebody about Jesus every day. Share a scripture everyday; find someone to witness to. You’ll get all kinds of responses. I tried to respond to those men as if I were okay. I tried to act as if I were saved, but what they were saying was pricking my heart.

The gospel is offensive to religious people. The first statement they’ll make is, "I don’t believe that way. We believe differently at our church." That’s a first-class sign that you’ve got somebody who’s not saved. Or, you’ll get a response like, "There are many interpretations of the Bible. Man wrote the Bible." That’s another sign that you’re dealing with somebody that is not saved. Look for the signs. Or people will say, "I’m a church member." When they respond, you’re going to have to believe God to know what to say, and He will give you words to say. Some people will be very defiant about it. Others will be arrogant, and with others, you’ll know right away that you’re getting to them. But if you listen to the Lord and allow Him to give you the words in your heart, and allow Him to use your mouth, you’ll be able to share with those people.

I have included here my Salvation Prayer Card. Read it, copy it, and use it to be a tool in praying for your loved ones who are not saved.

God, I come to You today in the Name of Jesus, claiming the Salvation of _______________. I claim by faith that they are saved, delivered, set free and baptized in the Holy Spirit. In the Name of Jesus, I break Satan’s power over their lives. He will not keep them from coming into the family of God.

Lord, I ask You to remove from their lives any people or influences that are not supposed to be there, and that distract my loved ones from salvation.

Father, You opened Lydia’s heart in Acts 16:14. I believe You will do the same for my loved ones. I ask You to send Holy Spirit-led believers across their paths.¹ I pray that their eyes will be opened to the Truth as they hear Your Word!

I cease not to give thanks for _____________, making mention of them in my prayers; that You, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You: the eyes of their understanding being enlightened; that they may know what is the hope of Your calling and what are the riches of the glory of Your inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of Your power to them who believe according to the working of Your mighty power!²

Thank You, Father, for creating the right circumstances for the Word to be planted in their hearts. Laborers are being sent forth to minister unto them and Holy Ghost conviction is drawing them to You.

I refuse to fear. I have claimed ______________for the Kingdom of God in Jesus’ Name. I am standing in faith and love for them. I am not moved by what I see or feel; I am only moved by what the Word of God says. Circumstances are subject to CHANGE!³ I have God’s Word and it cannot fail. The devil is a liar. He cannot prevent the Word of God from reaching them.

1 Luke 10:2 4 Isaiah 55:11

2 Ephesians 1:16-19 5 1 John 5:14,15

3 2 Corinthians 4:18 6 Philippians 2:13

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