Don't sit around in the waiting room of life; Jesus didn't just save us from sin and death, but He also saves us to something- proclaiming the gospel! This calling is placed on every believer, so what are we waiting for? Our lives are changed, and we are called to a greater mission; proclaiming the good news to the world. God has entrusted us with His message, we, weak and sinful human beings, are called to spread the gospel...what an awesome privilege!How often do I actually live that out? Not very often. But as was pointed out in the message this morning, God called us out of this world of darkness into His magnificent light, and that should be a joy for us to proclaim! Despite the amazing changes God has worked in our own lives, so often we dread the infamous "e-word"...evangelism. I'll admit that I tend to cringe at the word myself, but the word comes from a Greek term meaning "to proclaim good news." Isn't that something that we should want to do? And what better news is there than the message of salvation?
So why do we fight so hard to avoid evangelism? It is a part of our human nature that we make everything about ourselves, so it shouldn't be at all surprising to realize that we often put the salvation of others on our own shoulders. It's not about us though! It's not our weight to carry; salvation belongs to the Lord. We cannot save people, only God can! We are tools that He uses, but the final project is not ours to take credit for. God uses us, but the work is done by His Spirit, in His strength, and in His perfect timing.
I think it is important to realize that evangelism isn't just the verbal proclamation of the gospel, but more so a way of life. Consider the words of the Apostle Paul:
"And I, when I came to you, brothers, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." ~1 Corinthians 2:1-5We are called to proclaim the gospel, but such a calling is not simply to "come proclaiming to [others] the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom," but rather to live in such a way that "[our] speech and [our] message [are] not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that [their] faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." The whole earth is our mission field, every moment a chance to share the gospel with those around us, our job is to step our in faith and follow the calling that the Lord has given us. We must have faith, believing that Jesus was God in the flesh, living a perfect life and dying an awful death to cover our sins and rising again three days later in a marvelous victory over sin and death. We must go in faith, not having a course visibly set before us but trusting that God is our guide and that He will always be with us, especially as He calls us to roads that we cannot travel alone, but only in His strength. We must be humble, remembering that the Kingdom of God is a kingdom unlike any other, a kingdom where the values and ideals of this world are turned completely upside-down. As Christ says in Luke 9, "he who is the least among you is he who is the greatest." Also, we must be loving, gracious, and compassionate, rather than passing judgment and condemning those we un-rightly and unjustly view ourselves better than.
As I wrote in my journal during the service this morning, I don't want to sit around in the waiting room of life, I want to accept the privilege that the Lord has given me as His child and proclaim the message of life and light through Christ Jesus to the world around me. Wherever the Lord leads me, I don't want to be caught waiting, I want to be living out the mission He has given me.
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