When you and I became followers of Jesus Christ, he made us into new creations and gave us an inheritance in the kingdom of God. All of our sins were washed away and we became citizens of Heaven, with our names written in the Book of Life. As children of the most high God of the universe, we receive rich blessings, and we have a Father who loves us and gives us many great and precious promises, all of which we can be sure he will fulfill.
Jesus is not only our Savior, he is also our Lord. Not only has he poured out his blessing upon us, he has also given us a high calling. We have a mandate from the Captain of our salvation to reach a lost and dying world with the good news of the gospel. I know and understand that he has given each of us different gifts when it comes to service in the body of Christ, and we should all be careful not to neglect them, but reaching the lost with the message of the cross is different from gifts for operation within the church. It is not a gift, it is a command from the Lord to all of us. There are those who are especially gifted at evangelism, and you can tell who they are, but we are all called to reach out to those within our own sphere of influence with the gospel. Saying you need a gift to share your faith is like saying you need a gift to feed starving children.
Look out there! 150,00 people die every day! They are being swallowed by death and hell right in front of us. If you saw a blind man walking towards a 1000 foot cliff, would you warn him? Or would you make excuses, like “Sorry, I’m not gifted in that area” or “He wouldn’t want to hear what I’ve got to say” or “He looks quite happy doing his own thing, I can’t bother him” or “I don’t even know him! How could I approach him?” They sound silly, I know, but they are the same reasons most Christians give for not sharing the good news of a Savior to a lost world.
Notice how we often look down upon those who have neglected their responsibilities to the country during war time. They are those we call “draft-dodgers”. People who were called upon by their country to serve, but chickened out and found ways to avoid it. They are seen as cowards, but what is also especially demeaning is that they had such little respect and disregard for the authority of the government. How many of us do the same thing when we refuse to get involved in the battle and pass on our responsibilities to others? Do we skip over or ignore all the verses in the Bible that give us our objectives when it comes to sharing our faith?
Here are just a few…
John 12:26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant will also be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.
Matthew 4:19 Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
John 14:15 If you love me, you will obey what I command.
Mark 16:15, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Psalm 107:2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.
Philippians 2:15,16 That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life;
2Cor 5:18,19 And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
There are many more. We cannot ignore our Commander in Chief and dodge the draft. If we love him, we’ll do what he says and take his message to those who sit in the shadow of death.
Are you afraid? That’s good! Let His strength be made perfect in your weakness. Let there be more of Him and less of you. That apostle Paul knew fear as well. He said that “without were fightings, within were fears”. 2Cor 7:5 He also told the Corinthians that he was with them in meekness and in fear and in much trembling. 1Cor 2:3
It’s ok of you identify with one of the greatest preachers of the gospel who ever lived. So rely on Christ’s strength. Just determine to do all things through Christ who strengthens you and be obedient to the high calling of God and seek and save that which was lost.
Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that wins souls is wise.
Daniel 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.
James 5:20 Let him know, that he which converts a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.