JAMES KING, A FORMER MISSIONARY TO AFRICA, TOLD OF A TRUE STORY ABOUT ONE PARTICULAR WOMAN IN ONE OF THE AFRICAN CHURCHES UNDER HIS CARE.
WHAT CAUGHT REV. KING’S ATTENTION WAS THAT THIS LADY WOULD NOT ONLY COME BY HERSELF TO EVERY SERVICE, BUT WOULD SOON BE MYSTERIOUSLY ACCOMPANIED BY A SCRUFFY, MAINGY LOOKING DOG.
HE WOULD ENTER WITH THE LADY AND SIT BESIDE HER DURING SERVICE. SHE SAT ON AN OUTSIDE SEAT NEXT TO THE AISLE. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE SERVICE, WHEN THE INVITATION HAD BEEN GIVEN BY THE PASTOR TO COME FOR PRAYER -- THE DOG WOULD COME ALONG AND TAKE HIS PLACE BESIDE HER AT THE ALTAR.
NOW, THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT THIS LADY WAS THAT HER HUSBAND WAS KNOWN AS A HARD MAN AND ABUSED HER. IN FACT, HE BEAT HER SO SEVERELY FOR HER CHRISTIAN LIFE-STYLE, THAT ONE DAY, HE BEAT HER TO DEATH.
AT THE FUNERAL, THE HUSBAND EVEN WENT AS FAR AS TRYING TO INTERFERE BY OUT-RIGHT FORBIDDING THE PASTOR TO CONDUCT A CHRISTIAN FUNERAL FOR HER. VERY SAD.
AS TIME PAST FOLLOWING HIS WIFE’S DEATH AND BURIAL IT WAS ONLY HE AND THE DOG THAT WAS LEFT. THIS IS WHERE THE STORY TAKES AN INTERESTING TURN.
THE MAN BEGAN TAKING NOTICE THAT THE DOG DISAPPEARED ON WEDNESDAY EVENINGS ABOUT 7:00 AND DIDN’T REAPPEAR FOR ABOUT TWO HOURS. IT HAPPENED AGAIN ON SUNDAYS -- ABOUT 9:00 A.M. THE DOG WAS GONE AND RETURNED ABOUT 12:30. THE DOG DID THE SAME THING AGAIN THAT EVENING.
THE FOLLOWING SUNDAY MORNING THE MAN’S CURIOSITY WAS SO AROUSED THAT HE DECIDED TO FOLLOW AND SEE WHAT THE DOG WAS UP TO. HE SOON FOLLOWED THE DOG WHICH LED HIM TO THAT HUMBLE LITTLE CHURCH -- THE DOG WENT IN AND TOOK HIS SEAT ON THE AISLE AT SAT THERE WHILE THE SERVICE WENT ON.
AT THE CLOSE OF THE SERVICE, THE MAN WAS SURPRISED AND A LITTLE TAKEN-BACK TO SEE THAT AS SOON AS THE PASTOR GAVE THE “ALTAR CALL,” THE DOG GOT UP AND SUFFLED FORWARD TO TAKE A PLACE AT THE ALTAR WHERE HIS WIFE HAD PRAYED.
THE MAN WAS SO TOUCHED IN HIS SPIRIT AND SO BROKEN WITH CONVICTION THAT HE TOO WENT FORWARD AND GAVE HIS LIFE TO CHRIST. NOW THE DOG COMES TO CHURCH WITH A NEW MASTER.
JUST LIKE THIS STORY ABOUT THE FAITHFUL DOG, WE ARE TO BE FAITHFUL IN OUR WITNESSING FOR JESUS CHRIST. CHRISTIANS ARE IN THE GOOD NEWS BUSINESS!
THERE IS NO HIGHER PRIORITY FOR A CHRISTIAN THAN TO HEED THE LAST COMMAND OF JESUS TO ‘GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS.’ I AM NOT GOING TO TRY AND SAY THAT “IT IS SO EASY THAT EVEN A DOG CAN DO IT,” BUT I THINK YOU GET THE POINT.
EVANGELISM IS SHARING THE GOOD NEWS OF WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR US. IT IS THE SACRED DUTY OF EVERY CHRISTIAN. IT IS DONE MOSTLY BY WHAT WE SAY AND HOW WE LIVE.
THIS IS POINT I THINK JESUS WAS ALWAYS TEACHING TO HIS DISCIPLES. JESUS KNEW THAT THE TIME WOULD COME WHEN HIS DISCIPLES WOULD HAVE TO TAKE OVER HIS WORK AND GO OUT INTO THE WORLD WITH THE REDEEMING GOSPEL.
THE UNIQUE THING THAT STRIKES ME THE MOST ABOUT THIS IS THE FACT THAT THE APOSTLES WERE COMMISSIONED BY JESUS TO TAKE OVER AND CARRY ON HIS WORK! IT WAS NEVER THE INTENT OF JESUS FOR THE DISCIPLES TO DISMANTLE ALL THAT HE DID BY GOING OUT AND STARTING SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT.
JESUS WANTED THEM TO BE A PART OF IT. THAT IS WHY HE GAVE THEM A SHARE IN IT WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE COMFORTER, COUNSELOR AND INTERCESSOR THE HOLY SPIRIT.
JESUS IS EXPECTING US, JUST AS HE DID WITH THE DISCIPLES, TO CONTINUE HIS WORK IN HIS ABSENCE. AS THE FATHER HAD SENT HIM TO SPEAK HIS WORDS, TO DO HIS WORKS, AND TO LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR THE SALVATION OF HUMANITY, SO HE EXPECTS US TO DELIVER HIS MESSAGE, TO DO GREATER WORKS THAN HE HAD DONE, AND TO GIVE OUR LIVES IN HIS SERVICE.
JOHN 14:12, “THE TRUTH IS, ANYONE WHO BELIEVES IN ME WILL DO THE SAME WORKS I HAVE DONE, AND EVEN GREATER WORKS, BECAUSE I AM GOING TO BE WITH THE FATHER.”
IN DOING ALL OF THIS WE ARE PROMISED ALL THE PRIVILEGES, ALL THE PROTECTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES THAT JESUS HAD DURING HIS MINISTRY. AS JESUS COMPLETED HIS TASK, LET US CONTINUE ON AND STRIVE TO FINISH OURS.
BECAUSE JESUS WAS THE FIRST TO SHARE HIS WORK WITH THE DISCIPLES WE MUST FOLLOW HIS LEAD AND SHARE IT WITH OTHERS TOO. AFTER ALL, THE GOSPEL IS NOT A SECRET TO BE HOARDED BUT A STORY TO BE HERALDED.
THE LAST THING ANY OF US AS CHRISTIANS WANT TO BE KNOWN FOR IS A BUNCH OF PEOPLE WHO DO NOTHING MORE THAN STUFF THEMSELVES WITH GOSPEL BLESSINGS WHILE OFFERING NOTHING TO THE MILLIONS WHO HAVE NEVER EVEN HAD A TASTE!
THE MESSAGE JESUS GIVES TO US AND GAVE TO THE DISCIPLES IS ABUNDANTLY CLEAR, “…AS THE FATHER HAS SENT ME, SO I SEND YOU.” WE SHOULD BE FINDING WAYS TO INCORPORATE THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST BY THE WAY WE LIVE AND BY WHAT WE DO.
I THINK SOME OF THE PROBLEM AS TO WHY SOME OF US SHY AWAY FROM “EVANGELISM” OR “WITNESSING” IS THAT WE LOOK AT IT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE THAT IT IS A CONFUSING “MECHANICAL PROCESS” OF HAVING TO MEMORIZE A “SALVATION FORMAT.”
THE FACT IS THAT WE FULLY UNDERSTAND THE GREAT COMMISSION. THE PROBLEM, SOMETIMES, IS THAT WE ARE CHALLENGED WITH NOT KNOWING WHAT, WHEN AND HOW TO REALLY SPEAK OF THE GOSPEL TO OTHERS.
THE SOLUTION TO CLEAR ALL THESE THINGS UP IS SIMPLY TO TAKE THE TIME TO GET TRAINED. AS CHRISTIANS WE MUST FIRST EQUIP OURSELVES AS DISCIPLES OF CHRIST AND THEN FOLLOW HIM OBEDIENTLY.
SPENDING TIME IN GOD’S WORD EVERY DAY WILL BE YOUR PRIMARY LESSON BOOK TO LEARN FROM. THE SCRIPTURES WERE WRITTEN TO GIVE US DIRECTION, ENCOURAGEMENT, HOPE AND COMFORT. IT IS THE DISCIPLE’S TEXTBOOK FOR DISCIPLESHIP.
USE IT DAILY TO DETERMINE WHAT CHRIST WANTS YOU TO LET HIM HAVE FROM YOU. JESUS SO WANTS TO GIVE YOU THE ABUNDANT LIFE HE SAID HE CAME TO GIVE US.
IT IS SAID, “PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT” WHICH MEANS WHILE WE ARE BEING TRAINED WE NEED TO BE PRACTICING WHAT WE ARE LEARNING. CHRISTIANITY, SO TO SPEAK, IS A CONSTANT STATE OF “ON THE JOB TRAINING.”
WE MUST REALIZE THAT OUR TESTIMONY, WHEN USED, IS A VERY POWERFUL TOOL. JOHN 9:24-25, “SO FOR THE SECOND TIME THEY CALLED IN THE MAN WHO HAD BEEN BLIND AND TOLD HIM, ‘GIVE GLORY TO GOD BY TELLING THE TRUTH, BECAUSE WE KNOW JESUS IS A SINNER.’ ‘I DON’T KNOW WHETHER HE IS A SINNER,’ THE MAN REPLIED. ‘BUT I KNOW THIS: I WAS BLIND, AND NOW I CAN SEE!’”
THE MAN WHO WAS BLIND SHARED HIS TESTIMONY THAT WAS SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD AND BOLD. PEOPLE ARE NOT ASKING FOR ANSWERS TO DEEP THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS.
PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW HOW GOD HAS WORKED IN OUR LIVES. WHAT GOD DOES IN OUR LIVES IS WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT FROM THE WORLD. OUR PERSONAL TESTIMONY IS UNIQUE. WHAT WE DO WITH OUR “STORY” IS A RESPONSIBILITY THAT WE MUST NEVER TAKE LIGHTLY.
GOD HAS ENTRUSTED EACH OF US WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO AFFECT PEOPLE WHO WATCH US DAILY. SOMETIMES WE MAY NEVER KNOW THE INFLUENCE WE HAVE. PEOPLE ARE WATCHING US – WAITING TO SEE IF OUR WORDS MATCH OUR ACTIONS. OUR TESTIMONY IS THE EXPRESSION OF WHAT GOD HAS DONE AND IS DOING IN OUR LIVES.
I THINK WE SHORTCHANGE OURSELVES WHEN WE DON’T FULLY REALIZE THAT OTHERS ARE WATCHING OUR TESTIMONY BY THE WAY WE CONDUCT OURSELVES IN WORD AND DEED.
IF WE REALIZED THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE AFFECT THROUGH OUR DAILY ACTIVITIES, WE MAY NOT ONLY BE ASTOUNDED, BUT COULD BE LEFT FEELING A LITTLE BIT SQUEAMISH FOR NOT BEING A MORE FAITHFUL WITNESS.
IT DOESN’T MATTER WHETHER OUR TESTIMONY IS SIMPLE OR DRAMATIC BECAUSE THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN NOURISH IT INTO LIFE-GIVING WORDS TO THOSE WHO HEAR.
WHETHER OR NOT PEOPLE WILL ACTUALLY ADMIT IT, MOST OF THEM WANT TO HEAR ABOUT WHAT GOD HAS DONE IN YOUR LIFE. THEY SEE THE DIFFERENCE AND ARE VERY CURIOUS ABOUT IT.
IF SHARED WISELY AND PLAINLY AND YOUR CHARACTER, CONDUCT AND CONVERSATION ALL “LINE UP” TOGETHER, YOUR TESTIMONY CAN BE THE MAGNET THAT ATTRACTS THEM TO JESUS!
JESUS IS EXPECTING US TO CONTINUE HIS WORK IN HIS ABSENCE. AS THE FATHER HAD SENT HIM TO SPEAK HIS WORDS, TO DO HIS WORKS, AND TO LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR THE SALVATION OF HUMANITY, SO HE EXPECTS US TO CONTINUE THE PROCESS BY DELIVERING HIS MESSAGE, BY DOING GREATER WORKS THAN HE HAD DONE, AND BY GIVING OUR LIVES IN HIS SERVICE.
JESUS HAS DELEGATED HIS AUTHORITY UPON US IN ORDER TO PREACH THE GOOD NEWS WITH THE EXPECTATIONS THAT WE WILL YIELD A FRUITFUL HARVEST OF SOULS.
JOHN 20:21, “HE SPOKE TO THEM AGAIN AND SAID, ‘PEACE BE WITH YOU. AS THE FATHER HAS SENT ME, SO I SEND YOU.” NOW, WITH THAT SAID, HOW WILL YOU BE FOCUSING YOUR MINISTRY THIS WEEK STARTING….NOW?!”
