08/16/20 G3: GOD, GOSPEL & GOLF #4 — After hundreds of rounds, I’ve come up with my own proverb: “100% of putts which are not struck hard enough do NOT go in the hole!” Some guys kneel down, hang their putters nearly vertical and stare for an eternity before they stroke the ball. My observation is that guys who are way too careful nearly ALWAYS hit their putts TOO SOFT. They almost NEVER make it to the hole.

As preachers, teachers and witnesses for Jesus Christ, we need to be sharing the Gospel with the growing hoards of Americans who are still unredeemed. But, for the most part, the gospel presentations I hear in churches, on television and in person are TOO SOFT. They rarely mention SIN and almost NEVER mention HELL. In Luke 14:23 (NASB), near the end of one of His parables, Jesus said, "And the master said to the slave, 'Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and COMPEL them to come in, so that my house may be filled.’” We need to share what they need to be saved FROM and FOR (Eph.2:10) before we ever mention the blessings that come to us afterward. We will NEVER cause them to feel any compulsion or urgency by speaking about God’s amazing grace and love or having a special love relationship with God and/or Jesus.

We need to “HIT HARDER” for the ball to make it all the way to the hole AND for the Gospel message to make it all the way into a person’s heart and soul!