Matthew 28:19 " Go ye therefore and teach all nations..."
Mark 16:15 ..."go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
Romans 10:14- How then 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?
15- And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Are we selfish of our God? Do we sometimes feel like he is our God only and no one else? Do we sometimes feel that we, Pentecostals are the only ones that have truth? In these last days God is pouring out his spirit upon all flesh. That excludes no one, for we all, are flesh.
If you are now in God's church, and came out of the world as I, then I am quite sure that someone shared God and his truth with you, just as someone did with me. Otherwise, we might not be in God's church today, had not someone taken the time to share him with us.
What we must do, is to remember the great commission to "teach all nations." That is why God calls some to the foreign mission fields, to work the harvest there. But we all have a part to play in this commission. We are to attempt to reach the harvest that is in our little corner of the world. There are souls out there that most likely, only you can reach, when no one else can. This is the part of God's harvest that is meant for you to reach.
Many times as we witness, we become discouraged because of the many rejections that we receive. We even feel sometimes like, " what's the use, every time I try to talk to someone about the Lord, I get turned down." Unfortunately, this can cause us to become selfish of our God, even to the point that we stop witnessing to people altogether.
But one thing that we must remember, is that God gives the increase, not us. What we must realize, is that our witnessing is accomplishing different things with every individual. With one, we may only be tilling the ground because of its' hardness. In another, we may be planting the seeds in previously tilled ground. While in another, we may be watering seeds that have been previously planted. That is all that we can do. We cannot bring forth the increase of souls into God's kingdom. That part is for God alone.
But due to rejection, discouragement, and many other things, we do, become selfish of our God, even if we really don't want to.
Do you witness to people on your job? How about at Wal-Mart or Winn-Dixie? Do you look for open doors or attempt to make your own to witness about Jesus? Through wisdom and experience, we should be able to take just about anything of a conversation and direct it toward a witnessing opportunity about Jesus.
Many times people will shut us down, just because they do not know anything about the Lord. Those type of people need a bible study, and if you can get one out of every ten people to consent to a bible study, then you are definitely in the ball park, batting a thousand.
Were you won to the Lord through a home bible study? Did you come to the knowledge of God's truth through a home bible study? Both my wife and myself came to the knowledge of God's truth through a home bible study, so I know they work.
Sometimes God places us in unique situations so that we may share him with someone. Too many times though, we pass up the opportunity by not being sensitive with God's spirit. But is it really insensitivity or is it selfishness due to a lack of prayer? When our prayer life becomes dull and dry, our selfishness of God increases, because we have lost the burden for souls, and our witnessing to others dries up as well.
Unfortunately, I have been in situations where afterwards I would say, " I should have witnessed to them." But was I insensitive or selfish? How was my prayer life at that point and time? Was I in a hurry to get somewhere or to do something? Or did I simply forget that I was once in their shoes? Do we sometimes forget where the Lord brought us from? Do we sometimes forget that we were on the road to Hell before we were born-again, and that others are still on the same road to Hell as we were? Is our forgetting really just a poor excuse of selfishness? Do we even think sometimes, " my four and no more?"
We do not need to be selfish with our God. For he has not always been our God as our savior, but was once our God as our judge. But let us remember that he wants to be everyone's savior and no one's judge. But how can he save if we are selfish of him and will not share him with others? God uses people to spread the gospel of his word, not angels. We are his mouthpiece in sharing his truth with others. Just remember this, someone shared God and his truth with you. Why not return the favor and share him with someone else. You will never regret it.
written Sept 8,1997
revised Oct 29,2001 " And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"" How then 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.
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