PULLING HORSES NEVER KICK – It is the idle horse that kicks............
People ask me what God is saying to the church. He is saying what He has always said: "Preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15, NKJV).
If Jesus Himself were to take my place, He would repeat His last words to the disciples in Acts 1:8: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Until we have done that, He has no further instructions for us.
It has been suggested that there should be a suspension on bringing more converts into the Church until the Church is fit and ready to receive them. If the Church could be made ready within, say, a week or so, I might agree.
But how can we ever hope to be fit if we stop obeying Christ? His command to us is to bring in converts.
Though spiritual training and discipleship are vital, concentrating on our own holiness as our primary focus will never make us fit to reach others with the gospel. Certainly, Jesus calls us to be holy, but outreach to the world is part of sanctification. Sanctification does not take place in seclusion only; holiness requires that we look outward to the spiritually lost.
I know of no finer way to develop spirituality than to go all out to win others for Christ. When we try to reach people with the gospel, we know that we have to be real. Evangelism should be the thinking, the impetus behind every agenda, if we want a church that is alive.
When church boards downplay evangelism, how can they keep the church from stagnation and sterility?
If the people of God do not view their overall purpose as winning people for Christ, they become just listeners, sermon tasters, choir critics or leadership judges.
The church is not a restaurant for spiritual gourmets cultivating a discriminating taste for food from the pulpit; it is a canteen for workers! With a job to do, church members have no time to criticize.
PULLING HORSES NEVER KICK – idle horses do!
__________________
People ask me what God is saying to the church. He is saying what He has always said: "Preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15, NKJV).
If Jesus Himself were to take my place, He would repeat His last words to the disciples in Acts 1:8: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Until we have done that, He has no further instructions for us.
It has been suggested that there should be a suspension on bringing more converts into the Church until the Church is fit and ready to receive them. If the Church could be made ready within, say, a week or so, I might agree.
But how can we ever hope to be fit if we stop obeying Christ? His command to us is to bring in converts.
Though spiritual training and discipleship are vital, concentrating on our own holiness as our primary focus will never make us fit to reach others with the gospel. Certainly, Jesus calls us to be holy, but outreach to the world is part of sanctification. Sanctification does not take place in seclusion only; holiness requires that we look outward to the spiritually lost.
I know of no finer way to develop spirituality than to go all out to win others for Christ. When we try to reach people with the gospel, we know that we have to be real. Evangelism should be the thinking, the impetus behind every agenda, if we want a church that is alive.
When church boards downplay evangelism, how can they keep the church from stagnation and sterility?
If the people of God do not view their overall purpose as winning people for Christ, they become just listeners, sermon tasters, choir critics or leadership judges.
The church is not a restaurant for spiritual gourmets cultivating a discriminating taste for food from the pulpit; it is a canteen for workers! With a job to do, church members have no time to criticize.
PULLING HORSES NEVER KICK – idle horses do!
__________________
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