15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
Notice that those who do not believe will be condemned. If people who do not know about Christ aren’t held accountable, the easiest way to help them get to heaven would be to do nothing and tell no one. Because if we told no one– no one would know and everyone would go to heaven!
Such beliefs are fallacy! We have an imperative from our Lord Jesus Christ to go and preach the gospel to every creature! It is a matter of eternal importance!
We learned about this tonight at the Tucker Association WMU missions meeting. The speaker, Faith Shiver, spoke of her missionary trip to Thailand and discussed the guidelines from the IMB given to her. We can use this too!
1) Expect to do a lot of planting and leave the harvest to God.
We want Instant Christians! We want to start, finish, and take credit. We can’t do God’s job or the work of the Holy Spirit, we just need to be faithful.
2) Relationships are key.
3) Be fluid.
This is more than being flexible. A rubber band is flexible and it can be snapped!
4) Slow down.
In American society we feel like we have to DO something! Slow down and build relationships. We can’t even drive 55 much less slow down and talk to a friend. Do you take time to look people in the eye or are you too busy?
5) See time spent with people as ministry time.
Sitting on the porch and drinking lemonade, eating lunch with someone, having a good laugh. These are things that build relationships. In America we feel like “hanging out” is doing nothing! How wrong we are!
6) Be a servant. – Only in serving can we lead!
7) Pray without ceasing.
Every work for God’s kingdom is built upon prayer! Jesus said his father’s house is a house of prayer. He could have said music, fellowship, fun, laughter, preaching — He said PRAYER! How much do we PRAY in the house of prayer!
Perhaps the reason people aren’t streaming to the front is that we emphasize the importance of music and preaching in the absence of PRAYER. An unpraying preacher is powerless. An unpraying church is impotent! Pray!
In Conclusion
We are workers building God’s kingdom not OUR kingdom! Some people are proud of their position and some are proud of their humility. Some are proud of their strength and some are proud of their prayers! We must glory in Jesus Christ and nothing else. Everything else is rubbish!
Lord, make us all Christians convicted that we are missionaries. Let us relax and enjoy the people both Christians and non Christians who are put in our path. Let us love others as you love them. Let us serve them with no expectation of repayment or recognition. Forgive us as we take pride in Your work and Your answers to prayer for which we can take no credit. WE are nothing– help us show the world that YOU are everything. You are light in the darkness and hope for the heartless. You can do anything and we can do the impossible with our faith properly placed in you and in accordance with Your will. Please be with those in the Phillipines who are struggling with mudslides and difficulty. Be with our IMB as they work to become more like You. In Jesus name. Amen.
Hello Camilla:
I enjoy your blog. I was surfing technorati and found your entry on evangelism. I linked to that on another blog of mine. I have been authoring Christian entries to this lately. Here is the link: Transfiguration Sunday
Good Luck with all that you do for your community. God be with you!