We want our public promotions to do this. We want our state-of-the-art, multi-media presentations to do this. We want our professional music and musicians to do this. And we even spend more on one Sunday's bulletin printing that most third world churches spend in an entire year..
Nowhere in God's Word are we instructed that such things will 'grow the Church.' (Or save the world) Instead, Jesus clearly told us: 'No man can come unto Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him.' John 6:44
Jesus also said some other very interesting (and precise) things regarding the Church's influence in the world:
And when ye come into a house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear YOUR words,
when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
Verily I say unto you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Mt 10:12-15
For others to 'hear our words'...they have to hear our words.
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?
And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?
And how shall they HEAR without a preacher?
And how shall they preach except they be sent?
As it's written, How beautiful the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace,
and bring glad tidings of good things.
Rom 10:14-15
Preach doesn't mean 'sermon.' Preach (herald) means to: publish (abroad); proclaim openly, with authority, something which has been done (the work of the cross) that it might be HEARD, and thus, OBEYED (responded to).
The Church entire...not the pastor...is 'this light' to the world.
If we would start 'doing' what Jesus said, we would encounter some amazing results! I have been a Christian for 30 years. In the first 20 years, I simply presumed it was the pastor's job to do the evangelizing. (Sure, I was supposed to invite them to church so he could do that, but I wasn't supposed to 'teach them to obeserve all things' like Matthew 28 says, right?)
In those 20 years, I led five (5) people to the Lord, personally. In the past 10 years however, I actually started to believe Jesus's words in the Bible. And I saw more, and more, and more results. (Salvations; baptisms; healings and all kinds of restorative & liberating works)
In the past year alone, hundreds of people have come to the Lord...all because I opened my mouth and shared the simple Gospel. And also discipled other people to 'open their mouth' and share the Gospel.
Now a lot of people want to tell me, "Well now Brother Michael; that's cause you're a 'Missionary'...or cause you're 'called'...or cause you have the 'gift of an Evangelist'...or some 'special anointing.'
All of those 'ideas' are WRONG. (And if I don't miss my guess, more excuses for them 'not acting' than explanations of how 'my acting works.')
The Bible is clear. It says, 'Let everything that hath breath, praise the Lord.' And the highest praise that can come out of your mouth on this earth is to proclaim what Jesus did on the cross to reconcile us back to the Father.
'Let everything with breath, do that,' I can hear Him say.
So if anyone really, honestly wants to know why people come to the Lord around my life, it's as simple as me telling you: "I have breath...and I just open my mouth."
The other 'stuff' does of course give each of us a lot of excuses not to do so, when we believe we're not 'called', or 'gifted', or 'anointed' (or trained for that matter) None of those excuses will hold water however; because Jesus said that if we would just SPEAK, (now these are Jesus' words, and He is no liar) that people would HEAR the Gospel if they HEAR it from us.
Be it known therefore unto you,
that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles,
and that they will HEAR it.
Acts 28:28
Not I'm not saying 'all' get saved. But I am saying that 'all' HEAR. They can hear the Gospel unto salvation OR judgment; that depends on them. Their response has little to do with my obedience. My part is to speak.
Salvation comes by hearing, and hearing by speaking...not silence. The Gospel was not designed to be delivered by radio and television, but face-to-face. Don't get me wrong. I thank God for radio & television; but they are not better than you personally standing face-to-face with a person, with the Kingdom of God IN YOU, and with 'Jesus Christ, the hope of glory' IN YOU...speaking to them and touching their lives in that personal way. (In reality, there is no comparison.)
I know we worry about 'speaking wrong things' and 'teaching wrong things' and 'not having all the answers.' Yet, when we end up convincing and consoling ourselves with the deception that, 'We don't actually have to speak...that's the Pastors job to evangelize'...then we're deceiving ourselves; missing our responsibility; and as we say back home - Just plain wrong.
It is the Pastor's job to equip each and every one of us to go out of the four-walls of our church and 'into (unto, toward, among) all the world' and announce the good news of the Gospel to those who will HEAR it.
The simple truth is this: The world can't hear it if we don't speak it. And they can't be 'added to' the Church as the Greater Works Jesus spoke of, if we don't speak-tell-proclaim-announce this wonderful Gospel personally to others, in the love & grace of God.
Freely we have received; freely we should give. Matthew 10:8
Think about that
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