Colossians 4:3 - Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about His mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains.
One of the things that I have always admired about the Apostle Paul (and there are many), was his zeal. This guy was just excited to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with any and everyone he could. I think society today would benefit tremendously if we had some more Paul's in our lives. Don't get me wrong, because there definitely are some, but not nearly as many as we could use. As Jesus said, The harvest is great, but the workers are few (Matthew 9:37).
We certainly have our share of Paul's in society today, but we need more. We need more people that are willing to go out into the streets and share the message that Jesus Christ can and will save us from the certain eternal death that we are headed for by being apart from Him. We hear many excuses as to why people aren't doing this.
Many people say, I don't know how to share the Gospel with people. Jesus told us not to worry about what we needed to say, because the Holy Spirit would give us the words to say (Mark 13:11). In this particular passage, He was referring to when His disciples were arrested for sharing the Gospel, but it applies to every facet of spreading His message. Jesus didn't say that He would only be with us whenever we were in trouble, He said He would be with us always (Matthew 28:20). We aren't the ones that are doing the work of salvation and redemption, it's the power of the Holy Spirit. All we are, are facilitators. It is our job to share the Gospel, and let the power of the message convict them and lead them to be saved. Like Paul said, "It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16).
I have actually heard people say that it was easier for Paul to spread the word in his time, because people were more open to hearing it. They had a stronger thirst for it. Was it easier for him? Did these people have a stronger thirst/desire to be saved? Last I checked, Paul wrote more than a couple of his Epistles from prison. Doesn't sound like too many people were really desiring to hear what he had to say about Jesus. This guy was so bold and zealous for preaching God's word, that he was sharing it with the Roman guards he was chained to in prison (Philippians 1:13-14). I can just imagine shift change for the guards the first few days Paul was there. "This guy's a talker, just to give you a head's up."
I really loved how Paul talked about how many times he was beaten, whipped, and stoned (2 Corinthians 11:23-27). Not because I'm sadistic, but because he never let that dissuade him from sharing the Good News of the saving and redeeming power of Jesus Christ.
In the society we live in today, there are more people that are more connected in so many ways than they were in Paul's day. It is much easier to share the Gospel with those who need to hear it, and with the population significantly higher than it was in Paul's day (big understatement), there are more that need to hear it. And with the technology we have available, we are definitely able to reach more of them.
While there are certainly areas that it is more dangerous (watch the news a little), that should never keep us from the Great Commission that Jesus gave us (Matthew 28:19). I'm sure we have all been taught that the action command in His instructions was "make disciples", and this is true. But we still have to "go". That doesn't mean that we are all expected to reach every far corner of the earth with the Gospel message. Some are called to that, and some aren't. Some of us are just being asked to share it with our neighbors, our children (very important), or the guy at the bus stop, or the lady at the checkout counter at the grocery store.
That is the beginning of our commission. That will lead to the revival we should all want to see.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the promise of salvation and redemption You have given us through Your Son Jesus Christ. Thank You for the amazing examples You have given us throughout the Bible, particularly people like Paul. I pray that I will become as zealous for sharing the Great News of Your Word to everyone I can. I don't know where that may lead me, but I am happy to go wherever You lead. I pray for those that are worried or nervous about sharing Your message. My prayer is that You will give them the calm and peace they need to get the words out, because sometimes that is all it takes. I pray that we will all trust You to speak through us by the power of Your Holy Spirit, and that we can lead someone down that narrow road to the beginning of an amazing and intimate love relationship with You that will last an eternity. In Jesus' name, Amen!
God Bless!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment