Hard to believe another week has gone by. I left you with a challenge last week to make the most of every day and every opportunity to share your faith, because you can't turn back the hands of time. Every minute that passes is one you will never get back, so the challenge was to do the utmost in each moment for the Kingdom of God. The reason I continually bang the same old drum is because I know that if there is anything Satan does NOT want believers to do, it is to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to those he has in his grip, and he will do anything and everything he can to thwart the furtherance of the gospel.
As soon as you determine to open your mouth, all the flimsy excuses in the world will come flooding into your mind. Satan will seek to distract you, and if he fails at that, he will seek to discourage you, in a number of ways. He is quite content to leave you alone as long as you stay within the confines of your "christian circle" of friends. If you want to see all hell let loose against you, then determine and actually GO preach the gospel.
As a soldier of Jesus Christ, this is no surprise to us, and each attack comes as nothing new. Attacks from the enemy come with the territory when you are at war. We have been given the proper armor and been given our objectives, and the alarm of war has sounded. The battle is on. The only trouble is, many have not taken to the battlefield. They have received the orders from the Captain, but are not obeying them! They are busy enjoying all the benefits of being in the army, and studying the manual to learn as much as possible about warfare and the rules of engagement. They have regular meetings and parties at the barracks, which they spend large amounts of energy and resources on, while the battle rages on outside. They worship and adore their Captain, yet they do not do what he says!
Jesus said, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do no the things that I tell you?"
"Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on as of late - and how little revival has resulted? I believe the problem is that we have been trying to substitute praying for obeying, and it simply will not work. To pray for revival while ignoring the plain precept laid down in Scripture is to waste a lot of words and get nothing for our trouble. Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute for obedience." A.W. Tozer
"We Cristians too often substitute prayer for playing the game. Prayer is good; but when used as a substitute for obedience, it is nothing but blatant hypocrisy, a despicable Pharisaism... To your knees, man! And to your Bible! Decide at once! Don't hedge! Time flies! Cease your insults to God. Quit consutling with flesh and blood. Stop your lame, lying and cowardly excuses. Enlist!" C.T. Studd 1860-1931 British missionary who served in China, India, and Africa
I know that the reason most of us do not share our faith is because we suffer with the "Fear of Man" Syndrome. We are afraid of what people will think or say. Imagine this for a moment. If I was to offer you $1,000 for every person you witnessed to in the next 2 weeks, do you think you would be more zealous in your evangelism? Think about it --- $1,000 cash for every person you shared the gospel with for two whole weeks. How much money could you make in two weeks? You're thinking "YES!!! Break out the pillow cases, baby! We're going to the bank!" It sure would be nice if that were the case. $1,000 per person would make many of us instant evangelists indeed.
So now let me ask you: Can you deal with your "fear of man" problem for your love for money, when you can't deal with it for your love for God? It's challenging, isn't it? Listen, the Lord has rewards in heaven that will make you detest anything that money can buy. Jesus told us to build treasures in heaven, where moths and rust do not corrupt. Where is your treasure?
We have so many motivating factors for preaching the gospel: compassion for the fate of the lost, to hear the words "Well done, good and faithful servant", rewards in the kingdom, the glory of God, etc. Won't you, at least for one of these, step out and obey the voice of your Captain and actively seek and save the lost by preaching the gospel to every creature? The Lord will not let you down when you obey him.
Until next week, ..... See you on the streets!!