The Urgency of the Gospel

If we who know Jesus need Him, how much more do those around us need Him?  Every person who does not know Christ is a dead person, for life comes only through Christ.  If every believer were to tell one person about Jesus, what would this world be like?  As the days go by, I ask myself the question, "What am I doing Lord?" My life is supposedly all about you, yet so many times I let it be about me.

For most North American Christians we rarely get such a clear wake up call. Too often we’re planning for the next big thing we’re going to do, college, wedding, graduate school, new job, travel, career change or even retirement.  Too often our lives consist of our plans for the future, rather than an urgent desire to make Christ known to the lost and dying.  How often do we have a sense of urgency to share the good news of Jesus—the only hope for sinners—with our neighbors, coworkers, classmates and acquaintances?  If we truly believe that Christ is everything, then shouldn’t our lives reflect this more?

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40)

What if we lived life based on these verses?  Would we talk, dress, behave the way we do?  Would we miss a chance to tell someone about Jesus?  If these two commandments were on our hearts all the time, what would our life be like?  These days, I seem to reflect on my life quite a bit.  And as I begin to realize how short I fall from these commandments, I praise God for Jesus my Savior who forgives and covers up my shortcomings.  Daily, I look to see what I have done. Sometimes I'm proud of myself, other times I feel I could have done more.  But if I lived every second of my life according to these verses, wouldn't my life be different?

Urgency, do you sense it?

The urgency of the gospel has propelled missionaries to all corners of the earth, often at sacrificial cost to their own lives, employment, and family.

Do you see the dying people around you?  Do you sense the Spirit prompting you to say something?  I do.  It's not because I do the right thing all the time that I ask these questions, but because my heart aches for the lives that are doomed for hell unless we tell them about Jesus.  For He is the answer to all life's problems.

Urgency, do you sense it?

There should be an urgency to our evangelism efforts that flows from responsibility.  This kind of urgency often focuses on the consequences that will happen to us and others when we fail to live out the call Jesus left for us.  Consequences that are uncomfortable and unpopular to talk about in our day and age, but which Scripture unapologetically says will come due at the judgment seat of Christ. (See Acts 20:24-27)  This kind of urgency embraces a view of God that emphasizes His holiness.

But there should also be an urgency to our evangelism efforts that flows from love.  This urgency focuses on our relationship with God and with others.  Our love for God and our compassion for the lost—both in light of the hell they’re going to and the hell they’re going through—should drive us to share Jesus’ Good News with everyone. (See Matthew 9:36)  This kind of urgency embraces a view of God that emphasizes His love.

Jesus stresses the urgency of evangelism in the Great Commission, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

The world today is in chaos, therefore the need to evangelize in ever-greater intensity. (See Ezekiel 9:4)  To overcome the lack of this urgency in such a time when sound doctrines are not tolerated, we need the urgency of the gospel in our public and personal evangelism.  The harvest is indeed plenty, the world is perishing without Christ, the need to cover great territory and reaching many quickly with the gospel is urgent.  I implore you to be a part of sharing the Good News with all those who are lost.   

Dear Lord, help us to feel the urgency about sharing your Gospel with the world.  Give us the courage to trust that you will equip us when the time is right.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Can God change your life?

God has made it possible for you to know Him, and experience an amazing
change in your own life.

Discover how you can find peace with God.

Peace With God

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You." (Isaiah 26:3)

We are living in a world that is full of trouble. We see so much unrest, hatred, and uncertainty all around us. What we are seeing is the true condition of the heart.  With so many natural and man made disasters in the world, one wonders if it could get any worse. How am I going to survive?  How can I find true peace in this world?  What many people do not realize is that they cannot experience true peace until they have an encounter with the Prince of Peace who died on the cross so that all our sins can be forgiven, and only then can we understand His way of life that leads us to His peace.

The closer we draw to Him, the more of His peace we can enjoy. (See James 4:8)  God gives us clear instructions about how to draw near to Him.  Psalm 24:3–4 says, “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.”    

But Scripture is also clear that we cannot make ourselves clean enough or pure enough to earn the presence of the Lord. (See Romans 3:10, 23)  

So how do we draw near enough to experience His peace?  Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Dr. Billy Graham once wrote in his book called "Peace with God" that unless you have peace with God, you can’t have peace in your heart.  God loves you and wants you to have peace and joy in your life through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Living in peace can be compared to the petals of a flower unfolding in the morning sunlight.  The petals of peace in our lives unfold as we learn more about God.  We discover that His character is always faithful. We experience His continual goodness.  We read more of His promises. (See Psalm 100:5; 115:11; Isaiah 26:4)  

If things are going well, then we feel peaceful; when things go cockeyed, the peace quickly dissipates.  Jesus made a distinction between His peace and the world’s wavering peace, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” (John 14:27)

Since I started my ministry in 1996, the theme of my personal life has been to "Be simple, clean, and fruitful." This formula has greatly enriched my physical and spiritual life. I am aware that what has worked for me may not work for you, but allow me to suggest that when you combine a clear mind and a clean heart with creative hands the results can be amazing.

Someone once said, "There may be those on earth who dress better or eat better, but those who enjoy the peace of God sleep better." That is so true. King Solomon wrote, "...for he grants sleep to those he loves." (Psalm 127:2)

True joy and peace is not the result of the world's economic GDP factor, but the outcome of a Spirit filled and Spirit lead life.  And the only way you can experience the peace of God that passes all human understanding is through the blood of the cross, the blood that Jesus shed. 

You cannot have the peace of God until you first have peace with God.

So, my prayer for you is that you will find the Lord’s peace filling your hearts and minds “…at all times and in every way.” (2 Thessalonians 3:16a)  Let His peace rule in your hearts, and you will find life’s troubles much easier to manage under the influence of the wonderful peace of God.

 

Can God change your life?

God has made it possible for you to know Him and

experience an amazing change in your own life.

Discover how you can find peace with God.