*The great need around us for Christians to be faithful in the Gospel
Most Christians would readily acknowledge that the world is not how God desires it to be. We say that we want to change things for the Lord. We talk about reaching the lost through all sorts of programs, but what is the best way to reach them? How can each believer in the Lord Jesus be used in the work of reaching the lost and giving them the message they need so desperately to hear?
The answer comes from God’s own Word. “The Lord’s prayer” so called, reminds us to seek God’s will to be done on earth. It takes a dedication to the desire of God Himself, to have our hearts changed into His heart, to make His will our own. We are to be shaped by the Potter, made into what He wants us to be.
We know that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. So, I ask you, Christian, are you seeking to fulfill the desire of God’s heart? Do you pray that His will be done each day and then put yourself in a position to be used by God to accomplish that will? If we “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, then all these things (necessities of life) will be added to you” We often desire God’s material and tangible blessings, but don’t strive to see what He desires of us. I am confident that He will not bless an attitude that seeks to do the least possible service for our Lord, but rather a heart that overflows with the love of Christ and then shares it with others.
Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. (John 4:35)
The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest. (Matt. 9:36-37)
Surely there are many who are able to do more than they do. We have a tendency to put our priorities out of order. God’s commands should be first, and not our own. We cannot live for our own selfish desires. God has given us life for a reason, and that is to glorify Him. We live only because He allows it and we have a responsibility to Him to live His way.
* personal responsibility vs. the work of a gifted few
If only specially called ‘evangelists’ are to be out preaching the gospel, then God didn’t supply sufficient to meet the need. I don’t believe the Lord will ever leave His church lacking. We know that this work can not be accomplished through just a select few.
We see that there are a small percentage of believers that are called as evangelists, and the reason is that we are all called to witness, and the evangelist is called to that also. But the job doesn’t end there, it is also a call to equip the body as seen in the following passage.
Eph 4:11-12 evangelists are gifted for the equipping of the saints for evangelism, not for doing it all themselves. So, if you have assumed that door to door calling, or preaching in the open air is just for a select few, you need to see the true work of the evangelist, which is to equip the saints.
Are all called to preach the gospel the same way? No. Are all called to preach the gospel some way? YES. We all see people each day that are unsaved. We all have friends, relatives, and coworkers that the evangelist can never meet. The evangelist is to be involved in the work and making sure the work is effective, but he should never be the only one preaching the Gospel to the lost.
You’re either a missionary or a mission field. One or the other. So, will you step out in faith and reach out to some lost soul? If not, what is keeping you? Maybe you don’t feel comfortable speaking. Paul said in 1 Cor. 2 that even this educated apostle was fearful, and I am sure he was not comfortable being placed in prison, yet he obeyed despite the cost to him personally.
Paul knew what he had to look forward to, and his priority was to please his Master and Savior. It was his love for the Lord that brought him to tell the wonderful story of the Christ who died for him and his sin. His faith was personal, and because of the relationship with Christ that Paul had, he could not keep such a wondrous thing to himself. Truly, the epitome of a selfish Christian is one who keeps his Savior to himself.
