Evangelism

Ummm, FUN. So the single most exciting thing I have done in this world is share the Gospel of Jesus. Seriously it is as scary as I imagine sky diving would be, it is more terrifying than the Superman (a great big roller coaster)at Six Flags, and more exciting than I hope snowboarding will be. Jesus Christ is an incredibly touchy subject. In fact it is downright dangerous in most parts of the world. Here in America we are pretty protected from physical harm and most verbal, but somehow that doesn't seem to make it much easier.




I used to dread sharing the gospel and when my friends would encourage me to do it I would just copy whatever they said, or I would take the other approach and softly (ever so softly) share something that resembled the gospel but still palatable to most people (i.e the gospel minus real sin, real Jesus, real repentance and real faith). However the more I "shared the gospel" the more the Lord convicted my heart that I wasn't sharing the gospel nor did I personally understand the Gospel. Sad huh?




Well it is true. Now since the Lord changed my heart, I absolutely love to share the gospel. Now that doesn't mean that I am not scared. I have gotten so nervous before that I stuttered like it was a serious birth defect. I have shaken so hard that I couldn't write out a simple e-mail address. I still get scared. But there is nothing that is more wonderful than sharing the real state of man before a holy God, and the real grace that has been made available to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a delight to share the change that God has made in my life. It is amazing how He has changed my desires, my loves, my motivations, my thoughts. What is more I know Him personally and He is CONTINUING to cleanse me from all my filth and sin! He is (according to Titus 2) "purifying unto Himself" a peculiar woman (I am sure you agree :-)), who is "zealous of good works." Yay!




Now there are several things that scare me initially from sharing. But the main reason I am scared is because I fear they will reject me and what I have to say. I fear they don't care and will not be changed. Sadly this is often the case. But one thing that God has taught me through two years now of sharing the gospel is this: Sharing the gospel isn't about the people that you are sharing with. Of course we should have compassion and love (without this the Scriptures say that we don't know God), and that is one reason to share, but it isn't the main reason. The main reason to share and the reason that will make every gospel sharing opportunity a joy whether the people hear you or scorn you is this: We should share the Truth of the Gospel out of obedience to Christ, and we should do it because it is our honor to be able to speak of what He has done for us.

The Lamb of God is indeed worthy of His reward, and He will receive that reward for all He has suffered. Through "preaching the gospel" God has allowed me to be a part (though the foolish part) of the redemption story of others. That is good and precious news!

There is another part to this that is kinda icky, sounds harsh and is overall distasteful to most of us. It is this: God is not only glorified by those with we share that repent but He is also glorified in those with whom we share that don't repent. *violent reaction here* :-)

I was struck with this fact when I was meditating on:

Isaiah 6:3 "...Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth [is] full of his glory."

I really struggled with the last part of this verse because I thought, "God we Christians hardly bring You glory, except in that which You do in us, let alone those in this world who reject You completely. So how can the earth be FULL of Your glory?". But as I thought about the verse, "the earth IS full of His glory", I knew that of course that had to be true. Everything had to glorify God in one way or another, at one time or another. Even when a person rejects the Lord, He is still glorified.

Jesus prayed "Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, [saying], I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." -John 12:28

God's name is glorified whether people like it or not. Of course God is glorified in the obedience of His children. In fact God is glorified in the fact that any of us can even be called His children. But God is glorified in the disobedience of sinners too. He is glorified either way, because the world doesn't run God, nor does it benevolently give Him things He desires (like glory). The world is under God's control. He was not surprised or perplexed by sin.

Isaiah 42:8 says, "I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images."

So through this I have learned not to be concerned with the reaction of people when I share the gospel, because God is glorified either way they respond to the Truth of His Word. This took a huge weight off of my shoulders and helped me to see how BIG (and that is unfortunately the best word I can think of now) God really is. His glory does not depend on me or on the people with whom I am sharing. Wow!

So I hope you get a chance to share the Gospel this week, and I hope that you don't worry about the response you get. I hope you will not worry about whether you can make that person glorify God as He should be glorified. After all His Word says:

"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:10-11

One day, all men will glorify Him whether they are His children or no, because He is worthy.




I hope you can enjoy just obeying the Lord in sharing the Truth, and enjoy the fact that you have a story of redemption to share. Hope everyone has a great week!