This blog Liferedefined4god has over 200 articles, which was initiated for one purpose, i.e., to ignite and influence Churches to reach the unreached, and to equip believers to be witnesses for Christ. The Church's purpose is not just fellowship and worship, but equipping believers to commit boldly and unashamedly to share the gospel with their unreached family members, relatives, neighbors, friends, and colleagues.
Christendom today is filled with substitution. Every other activity substitutes for the core purpose of being a witness and sharing the good news. Crusades, worship concerts, Church programs, building projects, and buying land can be necessary, but they often smother the Church's real purpose. Crusades, for example, are a priority for many; though they can give someone the opportunity to hear the gospel for the first time, they often draw the same believers who attend all crusades. Sometimes Christians don’t know what they receive from these crusades. They risk receiving false promises and theologically incompatible doctrines. Most often, it serves only the crusaders' personal agenda. Many leaders who convince others they have a greater burden for the world release believers from their calling and responsibility to witness.
Worship concerts are another thing today. Christians fill those spaces. Worship concerts with animated stages and videos are the focus now. A packed crowd is seen as the result of revival. The worship leader, with his/her team, incites people to shake a little, hop a little, move around, have goosebumps, get emotional, and eventually lead the crowd to adore them. It is unfortunate that the church's actual purpose is constantly sidelined, sidetracked, and sometimes disregarded. Michael Yaw Antwi from Ghana, who is a pastor, public speaker, and a cybersecurity analyst, comments, “One of the most deceptive terms used in denomination circles is REVIVAL. Nobody gets revived; funds are raised, noise is made, zero life transformation.”
Here is the beautiful insight from Leonard Ravenhill on worship:
“Some people are content with worship as twilights of wonder, twitters of praise, twinkles of memory, twitches of conscience.
Not me.
I want twinings of illumination, twists of grace, twillets of thought, twirls of time, and twinters of the soul.
I want worship that tangles me in glory and turns me inside out. Worship that does not merely give me goosebumps but gives me God. Worship that does not leave me where it found me, but takes the loose threads of my life and twines them into Christ.
Let others settle for a twinkle. I want transfiguration.”
Transformation of lives is one of the greatest miracles of human life. The gospel must be preached to all the world; that’s the mandate “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14.
No number of programs, concerts, or crusades can saturate the world with the gospel alone. Unless every believer becomes a witness, shares his faith, and disciples, we will not see much impact. Let me share a fascinating record from the Gospel of John. It says, “Even though he (Jesus) performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe Him.” (John 12:37).
Jesus was performing the most extraordinary miracles, including raising people from the dead, and yet people refused to believe Him. If that were the case, how would your programs, concerts, and creative activities stand? Don’t get deceived. John provides another piece of information: John records in John 4:41, “Many more believed because of what he said." Sharing the gospel is key; signs and wonders can accompany it. Don’t try to reverse the process just to get attention. In the gospel of Mark, Mark 16:20 talks about the disciples “And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word by the accompanying signs.”
Usually, when we fail to share the gospel in the right way, we try to replace it with other activities, including prayer campaigns, conferences, and crusades.
Church, prepare your people to be a witness of the gospel and equip them to share it in context.
You may read the last blog HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment