Matthew 28:19
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost
Main Concerns
If your chief concern is about your own life, your job, your clothes, your children’s good clothes, healthy bodies, a good education, good marriage and a good job, then your concerns are no different from the lost in the world.
What is the basic purpose of our living as Christians? Is it to accumulate wealth? Fame? Popularity? To fulfil the desires of the flesh and the mind? And to somehow survive and, in the end, to die and hopefully go to heaven? No. The purpose of your life as believers must be to obey Jesus when he said , GO! What does ``Go’’ means? Go is a command. Go means you can’t sit down. Go means someone needs you. Go means you are chosen, sanctified and anointed to do the doing. Go means someone is perishing without you going. Go is an urgent call. Go means the sit back, relax and enjoy attitude is over!
The world is perishing without you going. They need you; they need your voice, teachings, directions, counsel, advice, rebuke, guidance etc. Why stay silent? When was the last time you shared your faith with an unbeliever? The answer is quite obvious like most Christians, it’s probably been a long long time ago- if ever. You can argue that you’re not an evangelist, but Jesus calls every Christian to spread the Gospel. Faith comes by hearing the word of God, and how can they hear when the message is not preached? When you’re not going? By us ignoring the call to go, we are being selfish and disobedient servants.
Why aren’t we going? There are various reasons why we are not answering the call: Below are a few;-
Entertainment and Comfort
Don’t we all love our warm homes and comfort zones? We all do, that’s human nature.
The world now is swimming in entertainment, thanks to technology. The world has become a global village with the advent of the internet and advance in technology. Among the entertainment gadgets we have at homes are the TV’s, DVD/Cd players, hifi’s, iPods, iPads, phones, computers, home theatres, hard-drive recorders , HD screens, play stations, mobile accessories etc etc. The comfort in our homes are just too much. There is so much fun at home. We can’t let go of these pleasures and step out into the cold to share our faith. We love the sit back, relax and enjoy attitude. We love the over 250 entertainment channels, latest songs, and movie hits at the box office, and who is topping what? The world is always waiting for the fastest car, train, computer, phones etc. and will be waiting forever...What do we talk about these days as Christians? Entertainment and politics. 2 Timothy 3:4 says in the last days men will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
Fear
Little faith produces great fear (Matthew 8:26). Fear always results from ignorance concerning the word of God. Many in the world are scared of their future; they easily imagine a future which is not, at best, insecure. Many fear social breakdown, poverty, technological tyranny, environmental catastrophe, war, despair etc. and we Christians have also been caught up in these phobias. Many Christians are very pessimistic than anytime, we are scared of persecutions, social rejection (being a pariah) and death. As Christians we need to have understanding, in fact, we are called the people of understanding, and should redeemed the times and not walk as blind people who can’t understand (Daniel 12:10). Fear is a sign of the end-times (Luke 18:8).Fear is a sign of weak faith. The Just shall live by faith, , (Romans 1:17),shall be bold like a lion and not being fearful and losing confidence in the face of adversity.
Pride
This is having too high an opinion of oneself, sense of dignity and self-respect.
Knowledge puffs up (1 Corinthians 8:1). Knowledge can easily make one boastful, arrogant and full of pride. In the last days knowledge will abound (Daniel 12:4 and Habakkuk 2:14). Therefore Pride will be in abundance as a sign of the end times. As Christians we shouldn’t be caught up in this inclusive web of pride. Anytime we are not walking in faith, we are walking in pride because our desires won’t be upright (Hab 2:4). We ought to use our Knowledge as Christians to serve the world, and not to shun it.
Worldliness and Sin
Whatever that is done not in faith is sin ( Romans 14:23).
Worldliness and sin are our enemies. The Christian should always be wary of the flesh, the world and Satan. These things continually war against us (Galatians 5:17), and it’s very important we fight spiritually against these. A friend of the world is an enemy to God (James 4:4, 1 Peter 2:11). Worldliness and sin makes us heavy (Hebrews 12:1) and diminishes the relationship between us and our heavenly Father. When we draw near to God, He will draw near to us (James 4:8) and anoint us to do His will. These days we don’t call sin by its true name, we refer to them as being, `cool’, acceptable and other names. Paul commands us to live by being examples to the world (Ephesians 4:9,). As Christians we ought to let our light shine before men because we are the light of the world (Matthew 5:18).
Ignorance
Ignorance is deadly. Hosea 4:6 says for lack of knowledge my people perish. Christians perish because of the ignorance concerning the word of God. It is only the truth that we know that will set us free as Christians. God commands us to study to show ourselves approved ( 2 Timothy 2:15).Without proper study of the word of God, we become ignorant concerning important matters of life and will be cheated by the devil. Matthew 4:4 says that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. We need every word of God as believers. Job declares that he has esteemed the word of God more than his daily bread (Job 23:12) and David says in Psalm 19:10 that the word of God is precious than gold, than even much pure gold, they are sweeter than honey, than the honey from the comb. What is the word of God to you as a Christian? Jesus was always asking them, ``have you never read in the scriptures?”-Matthew 21:42. The Lord was concerned about the ignorance of the word at that generation, how about this generation too? God desires for us to study as Christians. It is only through proper study that we can come to the full knowledge of Christ and recognise our true identity (Galatians 3:29) in Christ and take our possessions under the sun.
Rise Up
O rise up sleeping giant, rise up quickly and take up your shield of faith again, as soldiers for Christ. The world is not waiting for anybody, the world is waiting for you to manifest. The whole of creation waits for the earnest expectation of the children of God (Romans 8:19). Go now the world needs you, Go the master is sending you, Go He has empowered you, Go ,signs and wonders will follow you! Do not be afraid, just Go, because He is with you till the end of the age.
Prayer
Heavenly Father thank you for your word, evangelism was your heartbeat. Please help us to successfully represent Christians through the way we live our lives daily. Help us to overcome all fears and shortcomings as Christians by your Holy Spirit. Lead us into all truth by your Spirit of truth, and refine us by your word of truth. Unleash your mighty power through us; you are the one who is in us to will and to perform. Empower us to share the gospel with the world and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Unto you who is able to keep us blameless before your appearing again, be the glory, honour and power forever and ever, amen!
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Shalom
Enim


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