Jerusalem was besieged by the Syrian army. Because of the siege,
people were starving to death! Then, God
intervened and in the middle of the night the soldiers thought they heard an
approaching force that was overwhelming so they fled for their lives, leaving
behind all their supplies. Several ragged lepers who lived outside of the city
walls concluded that starvation was about to end their lives so they decided to
go to the Syrian army camp to look for scraps. Instead they found bountiful
supplies, unguarded, just waiting for the taking. As they feasted, the plight of the city came
to mind and they thought: "This is
not right. This is a day of good news, and we aren’t sharing it with anyone! If
we wait until morning, some calamity will certainly fall upon us. Come on,
let’s go back and tell the people at the palace.” (2 Kings 7:8-9, NLT)
Living around you and me are people starving to death, too;
not physically perhaps, but spiritually. They are lost, without hope, without
God, without the Bread of Life. What are we going to do about it? There is a
powerful temptation among Christians to gather together in groups of like-minded
people, to celebrate our ‘fullness’ in the Lord, and to forget that just
outside are people who are desperate, spiritually dying. “Jerry, you make it sound so grim, so dire!” you’re
thinking as you read this. It is!
Billions of dollars in resources are consumed by Christian churches across
America. Are those resources being invested in doing Christ’s work or in
feeding ourselves? Are we just building
more comfortable buildings, creating larger programs to entertain our kids, and
shuffling congregants between churches to prevent boredom, or are we seeking to bring direction to those who are lost, hope to
those who have none, and the life of the Spirit to those who are dead in sin?
It concerns me that the average Christian has never introduced
another person to Jesus, has never prayed with another to find forgiveness and
new birth. This is not just the work
of the ‘professional’ Christians who are employed by the church. Jesus final
words included a command to ‘go and tell.’ They were given to us all. “Go
into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to
one and all. Whoever believes and is baptized is saved; whoever refuses to
believe is damned." (Mark 16:15-16, The Message)
Evangelism comes
from a Biblical word that mean ‘the good
announcement.’ Christians do not
have to beat people over the head with their Bibles. They do not have to be
rude or insulting. They do not have to go to knock on people’s doors and give
them literature. Bringing others to
Christ is a matter of living the Gospel, of one beggar telling another where to
find bread. Our message is not hellfire
and damnation. It is good news about a Father who loves, the truth about how to
find the best quality of life possible and
Heaven, too! Evangelism is saying, “Would you like to meet my Friend?” For the Spirit-filled disciple, evangelism
not something that is done a day a month or once every now and then, it is a
passion!
We change the world, not by gaining political influence,
passing laws, or marching in the streets to ‘condemn’ social sins; but rather
by bringing people into the Kingdom of God, seeing them transformed by the Spirit,
inside out. It is a Spirit thing! Indeed,
Jesus told His first disciples that when He left them to return to the Father,
they were to spend time waiting in Jerusalem until they were powered up. What
for? So they could have great, happy lives, becoming the city’s most prosperous
citizens? Not according to the book of
Acts. So that they could become emotionally and spiritually well-adjusted,
enjoying wide acceptance within the community? Uh, wrong, again! Jesus said "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And
you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8,
NLT)
Do you think that being a witness means that you have to
become one of those earnest people who offend friend and family by arguing
about the Bible? Do you think that it means turning into a holy roller without
a sense of humor or an ability to appreciate the beauty and art around
you? Think again! A witness is a “spectator who tells others what he has seen and knows.” The Holy Spirit living in us creates the kind
of life (think- love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control)
that others want to know. Witnesses do not need a catalog of Bible verses that they
haul out to to convince others of their superior spiritual knowledge. They are
people who live authentically, purposefully, and wholly holy (not a typo) in
the love and joy of the Spirit of God. The Light within shines into the
darkness and creates multiple opportunities for us to say, “Would you like to
know my Friend?”
The one thing most Christians have never done is the one
thing all Christians are called to do – make disciples! They are bereft of a
great joy. It’s rather like a young couple reluctant to have a baby because
they see how much work an infant brings into the lives of their friends, but
then when they finally have their own child, they realize the joys far aweigh
the inconveniences of parenting.
Let me ask you two things today:
1. Are you
living in a way that your greatest treasure is Christ, full of the Spirit of
God? Is your life a compelling example of who a true disciple is?
2. If so,
are you taking opportunities to pray with people, to sensitively and
courageously say, “May I talk with you about my Friend?”
Becoming a reproducing Christian, one who leads others to
life, is God’s intent for us all. Our
goal is not to make bigger churches. It is to enlarge the Kingdom and to fill
up Heaven! So, will we?
"You remember us
in those days, friends, . . . we
proclaimed God’s Message to you. You saw with your own eyes how discreet and
courteous we were among you, with keen sensitivity to you as fellow believers. .
. You experienced it all firsthand. With
each of you we were like a father with his child, holding your hand, whispering
encouragement, showing you step-by-step how to live well before God, who called
us into his own kingdom, into this delightful life. And now we look back on all
this and thank God, an artesian well of thanks! When you got the Message of God
we preached, you didn’t pass it off as just one more human opinion, but you
took it to heart as God’s true word to you, which it is, God himself at work in
you believers!" (1 Thessalonians 2:9-13, The Message)
It’s to change the world – starting with your friend who
needs to know Jesus.
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