Evangelism is Not Something Extra
At our Annual Meeting, in my Pastor’s Report, I emphasized the importance of evangelism. This is the mission that Jesus gave to His disciples before ascending and it is still the mission of God’s Church today. As I wrote in my report,
“Evangelism is not something extra, it is the lifestream of God’s Church in action.”
Our Lord has not only called us to this task, but He empowers us through the Holy Spirit. Daily the Holy Spirit guides us, equips us, and empowers us to do this very task.
But for this to happen we must be open to God’s Word, to God’s life-giving truth. When we hear God’s Word, how do we receive it? Some hear God’s Word, and they sift through it. They listen intently to what they like to hear but turn a deaf ear to points that challenge their inadequate vision of life. The true followers of Jesus open their hearts to the fulness of God’s Word. They not only hear its blessings and rejoice in them, but they hear its challenges and seek to act on them. For God’s Word calls for us to do more than just hear, we are to act on what we have heard.
The Way, the Truth, and the Life
At the heart of ministry is a genuine thirst for the new life as found in the person of Jesus Christ. We’re willing to respond to His call and follow Him. We recognize that the wholeness of life He calls us to involves all of life. We recognize that this new life relates us more deeply to ourselves and to the world in which we live.
Jesus is truly “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” In Him, and only in Him, can we experience the fulness and abundance of life as it is meant to be.
Lloyd John Ogilive, in his book, The Bush is Still Burning, offers a series of questions to help us examine our relationship with our Lord.
- Are you excited about living?
- Have you ever seen yourself through the eyes of Jesus Christ? Can you picture yourself as He sees you – loved and forgiven, free and unbound, empowered and enabled?
- What is your life agenda, your ultimate purpose? Is it to know and to do the Lord’s will?
- Is your way of living extending the Kingdom of God in your own life, relationships, and society?
- Do your actions glorify your Lord and help you grow as a person? Are your actions bringing you into a deeper relationship with your Lord?
- Do you see your own eventual physical death as a triumphant transaction because you belong to Christ?
Our Relationship with Our Lord
Currently, we are in the midst of the Lenten Season. Lent is a time for self-examination, repentance and growth in faith and grace. In this season, let us commit ourselves to individual growth in our relationship with our Lord. And when we do, good things will happen in our relationships with others. For the more we walk with Christ and experience His goodness, the more we will want to share with others what we ourselves have already been given. It is as we walk in a close relationship with our Lord that we begin to be true witnesses for Him. His light shines bright through us to others.
– Pastor Phil
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