This weekend is all about souls and the value that God places on each individual person. I don’t know of anybody who can stir us up in evangelism like our speaker this weekend, J John.
Did you know that when you get to heaven, you’ll see many amazing things? But one thing you’ll never ever see again is a non-Christian. That’s a scary thought isn’t it? Five minutes inside eternity, I believe each of us would wish we had sacrificed more, prayed more, loved more, sweated more, wept more, and grieved more for souls. We cannot be the foolish son who sleeps during harvest time. We must be urgent to do the work of evangelism.
I remember Pastor Nicky Raiborde telling a story of a friend of his who lived in this apartment block. There were 40 families living in the block and everyday, this brother would use the elevator to get to his apartment. One day, he was reading a list that was pasted on the bulletin board in the elevator and he noticed the units and names of all the families who lived in the block of flats. The revelation then hit him that he was placed there by God to do something about it. He was the light in darkness.
He felt the heaviness and weight for their salvation and realised that many of them were going to hell without Jesus, unless he did something about it. So he told his wife about his burden and they went through the list of names and started to pray for their neighbours each by name. I think this is really an important part in the process because the Commission is not just “go ye” but “pray ye”. They prayed for all the families and then started to invite them for dinner. Every Friday, instead of going out for a movie or a meal, they’d invite one of the families in their block for dinner and in less then three months, 32 of the 39 households came to salvation. Listen, God puts us in communities for a reason. When we preach, we’re either sowing bread or seed. When we’re breaking bread, it’s for the NOW! It’s to feed the people. But if we sow seed, it’s for the FUTURE. Curry Blake once said, “If your Gospel isn’t touching others, it hasn’t touched you!”
Personally, I think that one of the greatest obstacles in evangelism today is that many Spirit-filled, Bible-believing Christians are bound by the fear of man. We’re paralysed by an inferiority complex. We fear what other people will think of us if we were to speak out. And it’s the fear that hinders us from being effective witnesses. And yet, the key to be free from this fear really lies in our own hands.
The Word of God says, “For a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7) In other words, you’ll become what you imagine yourself to be. So if you will continually say to yourself, “I could never testify” or “I could never do that, I’m too shy”; that’s what you’ll eventually become. A Christian with a defeated mental confession undermines the work of Calvary because when Jesus died on the Cross, He died to set you free. So begin to renew your mind and begin confessing what you are in Christ. He’s given us the Holy Spirit to free us from fear and the boldness to be witnesses.
In Philippians 4:13, Paul says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” In Romans 8:31, he says, “If God be for me, who can be against me?” Listen – success comes in CANS. Yes you CAN. Yes, you CAN be a soul winner. Yes, you CAN make a difference in your community. It was John Keith Falconer who said, “I have but one candle of life to burn, and I’d rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light.” So may the Lord stir our hearts this weekend. We must become the light in the darkness!
