NBRC

Introduction

We believe the truths found in Scripture are sufficient to bless an entire nation.  If this nation truly wants the blessings of God, it must start with the knowledge and application of what he has revealed to us in his Word.  Let us look at some passages in the New Testament that refer to a nation and see what we learn from them.

Selected Scriptures

Matthew 21:43 What I mean is that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and “given to a nation” that will produce the proper fruit.

Mark 13:10 And the Good News must first be preached to “every nation.”

John 11:48 If we leave him alone, the “whole nation” will follow him, and then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.

John 11:50 Why should the “whole nation” be destroyed? Let this one man die for the people.”

John 11:51 This prophecy that “Jesus should die for the entire nation” came from Caiaphas in his position as high priest. He didn’t think of it himself; he was inspired to say it.

Acts 10:35 In “every nation” he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.

Revelation 7:9a After this I saw a great crowd, too great to count, from “every nation” and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb.

With a quick look at these passages we understand the following truths:

• The Kingdom of God can be taken away from a “nation”
• The Kingdom of God can be given to an entire “nation”
• The Good News must be preached to every “nation”
• From Caiaphas we learn that Jesus died for an entire “nation”
• God accepts those who fear Him and do what is right in every “nation”
• In heaven there will be a great crowd of people from every “nation”

Nation-City-Individual

In the following passage of Scripture we learn that individuals must be strengthened in order to strengthen cities.  After the cities are strong, they can strengthen the entire nation.

“Because Aram (nation) is no stronger than its capitol, Damascus (City).  And Damascus (city) is not stronger than its King Rezin (Individual).  As for Israel (nation), within sixty-five years it will be crushed and completely destroyed.  Israel (nation) is no stronger than its capital, Samaria (city). And Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah (individual) son of Remaliah.  You do not believe me? If you want me to protect you, learn to believe what I say,”   Isaiah 7: 8-9 (Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.)

This is the underlying hope of the National Bible Reading Campaign.   We want to strengthen individuals by drawing them closer to God through the Bible.  That will result in the strengthening of our cities, which has the potential to strengthen our nation.  Do you see that it must first start with each of us individually?  We pray that God will go before us and change the hearts and lives of those who hear and understand the Gospel.    Only God can change hearts, but believers are called to plant seeds and water them, in obedience to our Lord’s commands.

This Way is Not So Complicated!

Using the National Bible Reading Campaign believers will:

• Target one zone of the city with prayer
• Find one person on the street
• Ask one question (when given permission)
• Teach one lesson in a home or apartment
• Form one group  in a neutral location
• Develop one leader and concentrate on his growth
• Repeat one time (with your new leader)

National Bible Reading Campaign

“Ten Steps”

In the following ten steps you will learn the plan for The National Bible Reading Campaign. Each part of the plan builds on the rest, much like the way a telescope extends out from within itself.    The first four steps discipline our attention on simply loving God. The last six steps are the operational segment of this plan.  They are dependent on your desire to love people and be willing to serve in the work of spreading the Gospel to the lost world.   Jesus tells us to “pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields”   You are an answer to that prayer. SO, let’s get to work in the harvest and may the Lord go before us that His Kingdom is expanded greatly.

Being Obedient

This plan is based on obedience.  Much relies on understanding as believers, that this is what God wants us to do.  To succeed, we are not depending on human wisdom (1 Cor. 2:5) or human effort (Galatians 4:23).  We are certainly not trusting in our own goodness or our ability to obey God’s law, (Philippians 3:3-9).  Instead, we, as Paul wrote “are trusting in the power” of our God.   “In fact, we expected to die.  But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves but on God who can raise the dead.” (2 Cor. 1:9)  This plan is founded on your personal, individual obedience to the Biblical truths taught in each and every step.  It is best for us to admit our dependence on Him now, humble ourselves before God and trust Him to keep track of all the results! (James 4:10)  After all, there is no way, using human efforts alone, that we can win anyone to Christ, any city to Christ, and certainly not an entire nation to Christ.  Let us pray for a great move of God’s Holy Spirit.

Motivational Part

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart,

all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. Mark 12:30

1. Trust One Source-(2 Timothy 3:16)

HEART

Jesus said that we are to love the Lord God with all our hearts.    We prove we trust Jesus if we obey Him (John 15:14).  In the Bible, Jesus commands us to go and tell others the Good News, and so we do it.  We are simply being obedient to this command.  Even being obedient, we will sometimes feel discouraged if the lessons we teach are not producing immediate converts.  However, it does not defeat us.  Why?  Simply, we trust that we are doing what the Bible commands us to.   Christianity itself is a condition of the heart as we see in Romans 10:9-10. We prove to the world that we believe the Bible is the Word of God by obeying Jesus.   In agreement with the bible, we are to go and “make disciples” of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:30-31).

2.  Accept One Challenge- (John 21:15-19)

LIFE (Soul)

Jesus said we are to love the Lord God with all our souls.  Your life and soul are linked together for eternity.  Why not use “this life” to serve our Lord?   Unfortunately, some people feel like they can’t be of use to God because they have denied Him by the way they live.  In this step, we learn how Jesus restores a man’s life to the faith through a repentant heart.  He simply asks, “Do you love me?” and “If you love me then feed my sheep.”  Would you consider making this priority in your life?  Jesus also said, “My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27)”   This should be the ultimate purpose of our lives.  To follow after our Good Shepherd who laid down his life for (us) His sheep (John 10.11).  Jesus gave Peter a life challenge and the good news is we know Peter accepted it!  Jesus also said, “If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.” (Matthew 16:25)  Would you consider using your life to love Jesus by feeding His sheep?

3. Obey One Principle-(Isaiah 28:9-10)

MIND

Jesus said we are to love the Lord God with all our minds.   It seems that when God wants to convey a permanent life-changing truth to our minds, He does it in a very simple way!  Think on the Ten Commandments, the Gospel itself.  The Apostle Paul also believed in keeping things simple.  He said there is only one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, one baptism, and only one God and Father.   This “simple” principle is the foundation of this entire plan.  You will actually use your precious time reaching lost people and teaching converts.   Using a simple plan will have the added benefit of training more leaders.  There is no reason why only those perceived as super spiritual can do the work of the ministry.  Let us not copy the customs and behaviors of the world (Romans 12:1-2).  There is simply a better way to live and to minister to others.  Let us keep our minds focused on Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 2:1-4) and the truth that “God showed His wonderful kindness to sinners in Christ Jesus.”

4. Win One City-(Jonah 4:11)

STRENGTH

Jesus said to love the Lord God with all our strength.   In this world, there are few examples of strength and mercy sharing the same space.  But In our God, we see wonderful Power & Mercy!  There is great encouragement in the book of Jonah where God shows mercy upon the entire wicked city of Nineveh.  We learn from Abraham that for only ten righteous people God was willing to spare Sodom and Gomorrah.    God told Paul to speak out boldly in Corinth, as many people in that city belonged to him.  This is the same wonderful God we serve!   To win the city to Christ, we will rely on God’s strength and mercy.   It will require us to leave our comfort zones.  The harvest, of which God speaks, begins outside our churches in our city.  What a great way to show we love God with all our strength by winning an entire city to Christ!

Operational Part

Matthew 9:37-38

5. Find One Person-(Joshua 18:3-10)

ZONE (a specific part of the city)

How do you conquer an entire nation?  What must be done first? In these lessons, we will learn much from Joshua, the great military leader for the nation of Israel by looking at his strategy for finishing the military campaign and doing his part in completing the task of taking the Promised Land.  We will also learn important lessons from Abraham, Nehemiah and Zechariah concerning issues like intercession, leadership, and spiritual warfare.

6. Ask One Question-(Luke 14:15-24)

STREET

Jesus provided clear instruction here. We are to go out into the city and the country and invite people to the wedding supper.  We are not to avoid this responsibility.  This is a great privilege we have been given and one that our Master expects us to do.  You will be taught a specific way to approach someone on the street and begin a spiritual conversation with them.  You will ask them to read a pre-selected set of scriptures and then have them explain it to you.  You may even tell them, “You are the professor, we are the students!  Please explain to us what this verse means to you.”  The main focus of the initial contact is to place them under the authority of Scripture.  We are to avoid arguments and just allow them to discover what the Bible says about salvation. You will find it one of the most fulfilling parts of the plan to engage and see lost people struggling to understand the Gospel.  There is no better way to see the confusion Satan has placed in the minds of people than to hear them try to explain their path to heaven.  It is most certainly not by trusting in Jesus alone.  Instead, it is a superficial, confused mixture of good works and false humility.  The people you talk to on the street will not just wake up suddenly and go to church…which is precisely why we are commanded to GO!  The motivation to engage people will depend on how you really feel about the hell that unrepentant people face.

7. Teach One Lesson-(Matthew 10:5-16)

APARTMENTS

After finding the person on the street, you will seek an invitation into the home for a Bible Study.  We begin with a study called, “People Who Knew Jesus” from the book of John.  This book contains six interactive lessons that lead someone away from empty religion and into full salvation.  These lessons are very simple to teach.  The chance at winning a true convert is considerably greater when given the opportunity to teach a number of these lessons in the home.  There is no hurry to get the person to repent or come to church.  We trust the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to convict them of their sins.  We are simply helping them learn what the Bible says about salvation.  Your goal is to win a friend.  It will be a very rewarding experience to see the Holy Spirit open the eyes of someone’s heart to the Good News that you shared!  There is no better feeling of accomplishment than to gain a new spiritual brother or sister securely in the hands of Jesus, with the gates of hell forever removed and this all by the grace of our mighty God!

8. Form One Group-(Romans 16:5)

House or Meeting Place

We have found that when the previous steps have been followed, it can be so effective that a new larger location will be needed.  This is usually a house or rented apartment. Here, new believers enter into a New Testament style of church.  At this point, we begin going through a study called, “I Have Been Born Again, Now What?”  There are also studies from John, Romans, and Galatians.  It is very exciting to see how the Holy Spirit will bring people together.  Your group may embark on a chapter-by-chapter inductive study of a book from the New Testament, teaching disciples to feed themselves and others through Scripture.   At times, this step can be the most difficult one to accomplish, yet the most rewarding!

9. Make One Leader-(Ephesians 4:4-13)

Harvest

There is a great need for more leaders and, as the Lord commanded us, it is now our responsibility to make disciples from our new converts.  This section of the plan includes training these new converts to be leaders.  At this point, it is important to establish a New Testament concept of the church in their minds.  The leaders will be discipled through the Kingdom Doctrinal Track, training them to be effective in leading small groups.  They will also study the book Second Reformation written by William A. Beckham.   The concept of a balanced church will be studied with the development of a cell church will be our main objective.  Obviously, with more leaders we have will result in more groups that can be developed; the more groups, the larger the congregations; the more congregations, the larger the church.  The larger body of Christ will have more influence on the city.  When enough cities have been won to Christ, we will then have a nation under the blessing of God.   Truly, this is impossible without taking the first step of making disciples as Christ commanded. However, we must be very careful that we always point the way to God, and that disciples grow into a true, loving relationship with him.  We would never want to make “converts twice the son of hell” (Matthew 23:15) as the Pharisees who saw themselves perfect in their understanding of God’s Word did!  How tragic that many of them were in love with religion and laws and did not seek nor love God himself!

10. Repeat One Time- (2 Timothy 2:2)

In this step you get to go back to step one and repeat the success with new individuals!  This is critical to Kingdom growth and must be stressed.  Sometimes we start one group and never break away from that one group.  We must learn to love, yet leave that group and go begin more small groups as the apostle Paul modeled for us.  Each small group is responsible to multiply and train those they win to Christ.  This is where men and woman of courage and faith are needed.  We pray that God will raise Joshuas and Calebs to step up, move out, and demand the blessings of God on our nation…or die trying. This is why we ask you to accept the life challenge that Jesus gave to Peter in John 21:15-19.

Summary

In the National Bible Reading Campaign we are asking you to make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.   Be encouraged to use all your heart, all your life, all your mind and strength to serve our Lord.  Trust the Word of God, take the life challenge, keep it simple, and use your strength to win this city for Christ.  Of course it will take effort, but know that God has made much (all throughout history) of a little human effort!

During the operational part, first pray for the work and ask God to help you find one person.  Then ask one question to find those interested in reading their Bibles and learning more about God.  Next, teach one lesson, which will determine who is interested in following Jesus.  After this, wait patiently for the Holy Spirit to reveal their need for fellowship.  Then form one group directly from the harvest.    Next, from this new group make one leader (It cannot be over emphasized how important it is to make new leaders).  Then help these new converts/leaders to grow in Christ. The last step, repeat one time, is vital if we desire to reach the city for Christ.