One day “the earth
shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah
11:9b). That “One day” is when Jesus will have established His Kingdom on the
earth. What a glorious day it will
be. For starters, nature will be
released from the bondage it has known since the “Fall” [of Adam and Eve]
(Romans 8:19-22). The consequence of
this release will be like a symphony on every hand. Worship and creativity will be bound up
together. People will clamor to have audience
with the redeemed, master teachers of all ages [who have either been
resurrected or transformed at the coming of Christ]. All who lead in every area will be masters of
their craft, first, through the grace of God, because they will have mastered
themselves.
There will be a few bumps in the road between now and that
idyllic situation principally because God is still in the business of making
Himself known. How ironic—all over the
globe people are searching for God while God, at the same time, is seeking to
make Himself known. Now is this not the “mother
of all disconnects”?
What’s missing? The knowledge of the Lord. How shall this knowledge be
disseminated? That’s exactly the right
question. The Apostle Paul put the
matter this way, “How shall they call on
Him in whom they have not believed? And
how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
And how shall they preach unless they are sent?
As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the
gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!’” (Romans 10: 14
& 15).
Right here is the heart of the church’s responsibility. If a church is not evangelizing it’s
frustrating the purposes for which Christ died.
Could it be said the reason so many churches are “withering on the vine”
is that they are not evangelizing? Ask
the leadership of your church, “When was the last time a person joined our
church on ‘profession of faith’ outside the “membership training class”? Ask
your pastor, “Have you ever led anyone to a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ”? Chances are extremely good your
pastor will say, “No.” And worse yet,
beyond his thinking your question impertinent, he may well not know what you’re
talking about.
Having put the pastor on the spot, how about yourself? Are not all followers of Jesus to be
witnesses unto Him? Not all followers of
Jesus are called to be evangelists, but, again are we not all called to be
witnesses? Acts 1:8 puts it this way, “But you shall receive power after that the
Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
You may regularly go to church, even tithe and have never
gotten a speeding ticket nor been arraigned in a court for any offence, but does anyone know you are a Christian?
There are some who need to know and may well not unless you “witness”
to them.
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