"Go Ye...!" a Command, Not an Option: Extreme Measures Igniting You into the Soul Winner You've Longed to Be

Go Ye…!

A Command,

Not an Option

Extreme Measures Igniting You into the

Soul Winner You’ve Longed to Be

Charles C. Blackshear

Copyright © 2013 Charles C. Blackshear.

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-8668-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-8667-0 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-8669-4 (hc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013903639

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/05/2013

Unless otherwise specified, Scripture verses are from the King James Version of the Bible. Those marked ASV are from the Authorized Standard Version. Those marked BBE are from the Bible in Basic English. All are in the public domain.

Scripture quotations marked AB are taken from The Amplified Bible, New Testament. Copyright 1954, 1958, 1987, by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible. Copyright 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Excerpt from Asleep in the Light by Keith Green copyright Universal Music Publishing Group.

Portions of Chapter 2 are excerpted from Who Cares About Apathy? by Robert Pue, Copyright 2003-2013, published at SermonCentral.com by Outreach, Inc., All rights reserved.

Contents

About the Author

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1-No Questions Asked. Just Do It!

Chapter 2-Apathy or Indifference: The Cancer Cell of the Body of Christ

Chapter 3-World Gone Wild: Where Are the Sons of God?

Chapter 4-Getting Our Priorities in Order

Chapter 5-The Wrong Pastor for the Right Job

Chapter 6-My Personal Testimony

Chapter 7-The Spark Is Motivation

Chapter 8-The Power Factor: Your Undeniable Proof!

Chapter 9-Bury the Ordinary

Chapter 10-Attention Getters: God’s Bait

Chapter 11-40 Excuses for Not Sharing Your Faith

Chapter 12-Preparations for Your Soul-Winning Strategy: Get on Your Mark!

Chapter 13-Get Mobilized for Attack: Get Set!

Chapter 14-Attack! Tear The Devil’s Kingdom Down: Go ye…!

About the Author

Evangelist Charles C. Blackshear received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior at the early age of sixteen in the summer of 1977. He assisted in an after-school Bible study known as the PTL Club, founded at Southwest High School by Bishop Dale C. Bronner. After receiving a prophetic, life-changing word of the Lord from Prophet Brian Mosley, Charles immediately began preaching the gospel with holy boldness because of the unquenchable fire and desire that was in his heart.

In 1979 Charles attended Georgia State University after graduating from Southwest High School in Atlanta, Georgia, the same year. At Georgia State, Charles started an evangelistic ministry known as Outreach for Christ. Many souls were saved, healed, delivered, and received the Holy Spirit baptism as a result of this ministry. After attending Georgia State University, he felt the need to further his spiritual growth, so in 1981 he enrolled in East Texas Bible College in Tyler, Texas, operated by his mentor Rev. R. W. Schambach, who greatly influenced him. After completing his studies, Charles was fueled with righteous indignation to snatch souls from the kingdom of darkness back into the kingdom of light.

In 1984, Evangelist Blackshear met Ms. Betty Waters at a church service where he ministered. Exactly one year later, Betty became his companion, soul mate, and wife. Together, they have become an inseparable team and have a commission from the Lord to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the masses all across the world.

His ministry has also been impacted greatly by Evangelist Mario Murillo, who groomed him to a deeper level of massive soul winning through teaching known as Mainstream School of Mass Miracle Soul Winning held in San Francisco. Charles and Betty have attended two consecutive years of these power-packed teachings held by Evangelist Murillo.

No one has influenced him more powerfully than his pastor, mentor, confidant, and spiritual father, Bishop Dale C. Bronner, founder and pastor of Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral in Austell, Georgia. Bishop Bronner’s living example of Christ, which has been exemplified in his life since early high school days, motivated and sparked a zeal blazed with glory in Charles’ life.

Since those early days, Evangelist Blackshear has been spreading the gospel across this country and in foreign countries such as Pakistan, India, Africa, Bahamas, Jamaica, Haiti, Alaska, and multiple cities across this great nation.

Evangelist Blackshear has served as keynote speaker in several college programs as well as high school assembly programs. Locally, he has taken the gospel to the streets, universities, homeless shelters, and prisons for over thirty-six years. Evangelist Blackshear is currently the pastor of evangelism at Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral’s Corporate Evangelistic Outreach ministry, known as CEO, and teaches biweekly Foundations in Christianity and Foundations in Priesthood classes. He is also the president and founder of Restoration of Power Ministries Inc. This nonprofit evangelistic ministry helps restore the power of God to the body of Christ by igniting churches to better equip themselves for the massive soul-winning harvest. Please visit his web site: www.rpm23.org.

Foreword

By

Bishop Dale C. Bronner, D. Min.

The Bible teaches the principle that the last shall be first, and the first shall be last (Luke 13:30). With this in mind, we should pay close attention to the last thing Jesus said to us and make that our first priority. This is exactly what my spiritual son, Evangelist Charles Blackshear, has done!

Let’s take notice of the closing words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19–20:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Ever since knowing Charles Blackshear from high school, I have found him to be a bold, audacious witness for Christ. He has lived with a passion to know Christ and to make Him known. He has unashamedly shared Christ with his schoolmates, his family members, his neighbors, college schoolmates, homeless people on the streets, gang members, drug dealers, and even corporate executives.

This is a passionate book, filled with riveting testimonies and encouraging examples of boldly working to fulfill the Great Commission given by our glorious Lord. Timidity has no place among those who know Christ. We are called to reach the lost and teach the found. Now is the time!

It is sad that the world has a lie but tells it so well, while the church has the truth but tells it so poorly. If a person believes a lie, he will live a lie. But truth has the power to set every captive free. We cannot afford to be silent in the day of good news!

This book will challenge you to be more and do more for Jesus Christ, remembering that ultimately only what you do for Christ will last! This book will encourage you, equip you, and empower you to win the lost at any cost. Its brilliant content will cause you to be armed and dangerous to every demonic ploy on the earth.

It is past time for the believers in Christ to awake from their slumber and be charged to do their part in fulfilling the Great Commission. You will finally develop the courage to jettison every excuse that has held you back from making a bold impact for Jesus! Let the journey begin…

Acknowledgments

To my wonderful Savior Jesus, I love and worship You eternally. Thank You for Your sacrifice on the cross of Calvary on my behalf even though I didn’t deserve it. Thank You for preserving me for this moment and this hour. Help me to seize this moment fully for Your glory alone!

My sincere appreciation to Betty, my beloved wife, my best friend, and most faithful supporter. You never even once gave up on believing in me, even when I doubted my own self at times. You’ve never spoken a negative word against me, but always spoke life into me even in the darkest situations. You’ve always had my back, no matter what circumstances we’ve gone through. My life is complete and full of joy because of you, my dear. You continued to push me to finish this book, so this one’s for you, Betty. I will forever love you, sweetheart!

To my precious mother, Ruby Leola Crawford Blackshear: Mother, you sacrificed in giving everything you ever had to your three children. You prayed relentlessly for me to be the man of God that I’ve become. And even though you’re at home in the arms of our beloved Savior Jesus, your prayers that you prayed while down here on earth are still being answered to this very day. Thank you for setting such a high example of a praying woman of God. I’ll always love you, Mother.

To Bishop Bronner, my spiritual father, my pastor, my confidant and friend. You and I both know that you were totally the inspiration for this, my first book. Bishop, I so honor and appreciate both you and your wonderful, lovely wife Dr. Nina. I respect you for your guidance, love, impartation, and overall patients with me over these thirty-eight-plus years. You have poured into me and invested so much in me as a father in the Lord that mere words cannot adequately describe my adulation and sincere love for you, sir. Thank you for pushing me to go after every single thing that our precious heavenly Father has in store for me. When other books come out of my spirit then, Bishop, Jesus used you to get this whole train rolling!

Thank you, Mama Naomi Williams, for consistently having our backs in prayer. Thanks for your love, support and encouragement which means a lot to us, along with your positive attitude of a true warrior for Christ. Betty and I love and appreciate you so much for speaking life over us all of these wonderful years.

To my Uncle Clarence and Aunt LaVern, I love you both; you’re the only parents Betty and I have now. Thank both of you for your love and support.

Much love, appreciation, and thanks to Deacon Edward Artis and your lovely wife Lottie for your support and prayers in helping me complete this project through a very arduous time.

I would especially like to thank Angelique McMath Jordan, for doing such an outstanding and professional editorial job. You are like family, Angelique. Thanks to the wonderful people at Editor World, especially Kristen Stieffel for your expertise in getting me out of a jam at the last minute. Thanks to all of the wonderful people at WestBow Press who put this whole entire book project together. You guys did a well-done outstanding job!

Introduction

Have you ever wondered why some churches are packed to the brim and other churches are struggling just to keep the eighteen members they already have? Does this happen by accident or is this intentional? How does one start with eighteen members and multiply to over five thousand members in a relatively short period of time? Is this sustained growth, or is it just hype that will eventually fizzle out? Is it true that a congregation can only grow to the level of the knowledge and experience of its pastor?

Do you have a desire to win the lost, but you’re apprehensive because of your lack of experience in not knowing what to say or how to strike up the conversation? Do you have an overwhelming desire to become extraordinary and to do great exploits for the Lord instead of being an average, dull, mundane, boring Christian? These questions, along with many more, will be answered in the following chapters.

This book is, without a doubt, indeed a book of action. As you read these pages, you’ll discover that this book is for struggling pastors who need help, pastors who want to see exponential growth in their churches, young evangelists, washed-up leaders, mundane and mediocre Christians, burned-out preachers, and desperate believers who want to be on fire with a passion in their hearts to be effective soul winners. To sum it all up, this book is for people who want to put an end to plain simple boring church as usual, and want to see an evangelistic explosion of the power of God the old fashioned way!

I must give you fair WARNING: the principles and truths discussed or revealed in this book, when applied correctly, will cause immediate, evangelistic, explosive, undeniable life-changing results in just a matter of a few months. The question is, are you prepared for such massive results? Is your church prepared and equipped for such radical changes? What will you do and how will you respond when a growth explosion takes place in your church? There is absolutely nothing worse than a golden, God-inspired opportunity that presents itself, but because of lack of preparation, we are unable to effectively handle the opportunity that awaits us and, as a result, have to let it pass us by. But with proper training, anticipation, and expectancy, you and your congregation will be on the cutting edge of what the Lord is doing in the local church today: intentional evangelistic outbreak. Even if you’re not a pastor, but a believer who has a desire to see the world taken over by the Lord, then get ready to be set on fire yourself !

Chapter 1

No Questions Asked. Just Do It!

Who would ever have dreamed that three young, inquisitive teenagers would finally make their way up the spiritual ladder only to be used by the Lord worldwide? Those teens included my brother, Thomas Blackshear, who is one of America’s top African American artists and illustrators; one of my closest friends, Kenneth Bentley, who is one of the country’s top bass players and an evangelist in his own right, and me. There we were, down on our knees on red, yellow, and brown strands of twisted shag carpet in the living room of my family’s apartment at London Town Houses in Atlanta. As we knelt down and talked to Jesus in prayer, I specifically remember asking the Lord questions like, Lord, will I be used by You to bring deliverance to individuals in an awesome way? Will You empower me with miracles, signs, and wonders in my ministry? Additionally, my brother Thomas would ask, Lord, would You anoint my hands to such a degree that my paintings are known worldwide to bring glory to Your name? And Kenneth would ask, or shall I say describe, to the Lord the type of young lady that he’d like to meet and marry—her weight, size, skin complexion, beautiful looks, and her unwavering faith.

Well, that was thirty-five years ago. All of the above has come to pass and more, beyond our expectations. Immediately after that prayer, Kenneth and I would walk up and down many streets of Atlanta preaching the gospel with power and passion like two young lads shot straight out of a cannon. We would minister to anyone who looked like, talked like, or even walked like a human. I would marvel at how God would use Kenneth to explain real-life problems and their solutions to the unsaved audience. He would quote parables from the Gospels and apply them to the world today, and not even stammer as he explained with precision and clarity the infallible word of God. We had such boldness and fire that one would have thought we were being paid a hefty fee to do what we were doing with such ease. However, that was a far cry from the truth. No one paid us, no one coerced us, no one twisted our arms. It all came from an encounter with the Master Himself, Jesus! This was the result of our spending precious time on our knees and talking to the Lord. In essence, one can only have total success after spending time on his knees before the Lord in prayer.

Today’s Christians, in comparison to those of yesteryear and in comparison to those mentioned in the book of Acts, are so different one would suspect that modern-day Christians have started a whole new religion. Along with fly-by-night trends such as secular humanism and the new age movement, Christians who are complacent, apathetic, and pompous talkers who show absolutely no actions in their walk with the Lord would keep Satan content.

Unfortunately, many modern-day Christians have been lullabied asleep, like Samson on the lap of Delilah. We rest in the comfort of that favorite pious statement, I choose not to preach the gospel down one’s throat, but I let my life be a silent witness to those around me. Good try, but what a cop out!

Don’t let me confuse you when indeed our lives are to be silent witnesses for the most part, but there are times that the Lord will set up divine kingdom appointments that are assignments for you, and you alone, to fulfill. Many times this requires your befriending that person and disarming him to a degree that will give you a platform to minister to him about the love of Jesus. You do this in wisdom by knowing when and when not to open your mouth. He that winneth souls is wise (Prov. 11:30). In other words, there are times you must OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND VERBALLY WITNESS ON BEHALF OF THE LORD!

Jesus made it crystal clear in