Let us Preach the Word
“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2 NIV).
The Lord gave me this message to remind the brethren that we still have an obligation to preach the Word. Our encouragement to you in this message is just to awaken the sleeping witness. I know this is not a very popular message especially for the lazy and excuse prone Christian. Briefly, about a few years ago, a brother came to me reporting that a certain man’s daughter died and they were looking for a preacher to preach the gospel during one of their weekday services. I at first ignored the brother’s request, but the following morning, Lord gave me a message that I should go and never hesitate to respond to an invitation when an opportunity arises to preach the gospel. Equally, please take note of this warning from the Lord.
If there are some preachers or anybody out there who discourages others from witnessing, he or she will be answerable to the Lord. Let me share an experience, A very popular Christian sister who claimed to have been an end-time prophet of the Lord was rebuked for lying in Jesus’ name by telling a brother that the Lord said; he had witnessed enough and that he should just wait for the Lord. The statement by this particular sister greatly displeased the Lord because the brother refused to accept the Lord’s rebuke and obey Him. As a result of the Lord’s rebuke, the brother’s attitude changed by behaving contrary to Christian values of love and brotherly kindness. We would like to emphasize, and unlike other professions; Christianity is not a profession (Being Christian and our duties) that we can retire from unless our lives are interrupted by death. The Lord has granted none of us ‘special leave’ not to minister the gospel (Matthew 28:20; 1 Corinthians 9:16). In a conversation I recently had with a Christian brother, I asked him if he had any desire to enter into the ministry later on in his life and he answered no. Upon further inquiry, he revealed that he simply don’t have the heart to be in ministry except to play a supportive role.
Sadly though, this is the attitude of many Christians; they are just happy to serve in the background and consider it their contribution to the body while being afraid to witness. I concur, operating in a support ministry is helpful but would we just hide behind it not to share the gospel? This is the unfortunate state of the Church system. It produces infants in Christ who hears the word year and year out. They produce faithful church attendees but faithless and fruitless witnesses of Christ. The Apostle Paul said he was duty bound to preach the word (1 Corinthians 9:16). Scripturally, we know that the dissemination of the gospel has a noble purpose, to save the lost, to heal the broken-hearted and to deliver the demonically oppressed (Luke 4:18-19). Of all those who followed the Lord during His walk on the earth, He sent out everybody (Luke 10:1). To demonstrate the power of the gospel, the disciples reported how the demons submitted to the Word of life (Luke 10:17). In the absence of the Word of God, imagine the devastating effects of sin which is a weapon of Satan to destroy human (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8) society, and the wickedness the evil forces of darkness would wield in the world (1 Peter 5:8). In our articles, ‘Blaming God when bad things happen I and II’ we reported the main sources of evil in the world which is Satan and the curse as a result of sin.
To many worldly-minded people, the world is a good place to be. The world, being the ‘lost paradise of pleasure’ (Matthew 4:8) is a place of great liberty to choose and sin at will. Therefore, because sin yields destructive consequences, God in His eternal love sends forth messengers to warn the sinners and call them to repentance so that He may avert judgment (Jeremiah 26:12-13). Furthermore, the ancient world (Noah’s generation) and Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed as a result of the people’s great wickedness (Genesis 6:5; 18:20; 19:24-25). The Ninevites, wisely responded to the call to repent and so escaped judgment (Jonah 3:1-10).
The Scriptures declares, “We know that we are children of God and that all the rest of the world around us is under Satan’s power and control (1 John 5:19 TLB). For our victory against the Bible says“…The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the Devil's works” (1 John 3:8). By accepting by faith this great deliverance, we reject the pleasures of sin and the control of the evil one. The devil, our common enemy, uses the pleasures of this world as bait in exchange for our souls (Matthew 4:4; 1 John 2:15), and this is the unfortunate situation which led many Christians astray and in the enemies camp (See a vision of Black and White figures).
In conclusion, we know that many Christians are not keen to witness and they turn a blind eye to messages of this nature. They feel these messages have no impact in their lives, but they are wrong. Apart from the fruits of the Holy Spirit which are Christ-like virtues, the fruits the Lord talks about are fruits that have produced a harvest through obedient labor in the harvest field (Matthew 13:19-23). Those who are afraid and ashamed to witness does not have the things of the Lord at heart, instead of their personal opinions of how others might perceive them matters. Often, Christians are afraid of being persecuted, and many of us who labor in the harvest field face these persecutions daily, and amongst other things, these are the genuine scares of the cross. If these reluctant Christians were concerned about the Lord, souls would be their motivation. A very dear brother and friend to this ministry asked us to enquire of the Lord for him if he could do witnessing work alone. The Lord gave a solemn reply saying, “My son P must keep on doing work for My sake and I love My son P." Besides this brother, many others received similar encouragement from the Lord, but they ignored it.
As a witness, this message has not fallen on deaf ears; this brother goes out as a lone witness spreading the word of God without complaining. The Lord will duly reward such man, and they are compared to trees which bear fruit in and out of season (Jeremiah 17:7-8).
Brethren, since we are eagerly waiting for the Day of the Lord, let us not forget, the end will not come until we have reached everyone with the gospel (Matthew 24:14).
We would like to extend an invitation to anyone who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ yet, or of you are not born again, to pray our suggested prayer on this linkPrayer of Sincere Repentance
by faith and follow the Lord (Matthew 4:19). You may also contact us for any questions or comments about this article or our ministry.
Blessed love in fear of Christ
Brother Glenn
Sadly though, this is the attitude of many Christians; they are just happy to serve in the background and consider it their contribution to the body while being afraid to witness. I concur, operating in a support ministry is helpful but would we just hide behind it not to share the gospel? This is the unfortunate state of the Church system. It produces infants in Christ who hears the word year and year out. They produce faithful church attendees but faithless and fruitless witnesses of Christ. The Apostle Paul said he was duty bound to preach the word (1 Corinthians 9:16). Scripturally, we know that the dissemination of the gospel has a noble purpose, to save the lost, to heal the broken-hearted and to deliver the demonically oppressed (Luke 4:18-19). Of all those who followed the Lord during His walk on the earth, He sent out everybody (Luke 10:1). To demonstrate the power of the gospel, the disciples reported how the demons submitted to the Word of life (Luke 10:17). In the absence of the Word of God, imagine the devastating effects of sin which is a weapon of Satan to destroy human (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8) society, and the wickedness the evil forces of darkness would wield in the world (1 Peter 5:8). In our articles, ‘Blaming God when bad things happen I and II’ we reported the main sources of evil in the world which is Satan and the curse as a result of sin.
Rejection of the Word Brings Judgment
To many worldly-minded people, the world is a good place to be. The world, being the ‘lost paradise of pleasure’ (Matthew 4:8) is a place of great liberty to choose and sin at will. Therefore, because sin yields destructive consequences, God in His eternal love sends forth messengers to warn the sinners and call them to repentance so that He may avert judgment (Jeremiah 26:12-13). Furthermore, the ancient world (Noah’s generation) and Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed as a result of the people’s great wickedness (Genesis 6:5; 18:20; 19:24-25). The Ninevites, wisely responded to the call to repent and so escaped judgment (Jonah 3:1-10).
The importance of Christ’s Sacrifice
The Scriptures declares, “We know that we are children of God and that all the rest of the world around us is under Satan’s power and control (1 John 5:19 TLB). For our victory against the Bible says“…The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the Devil's works” (1 John 3:8). By accepting by faith this great deliverance, we reject the pleasures of sin and the control of the evil one. The devil, our common enemy, uses the pleasures of this world as bait in exchange for our souls (Matthew 4:4; 1 John 2:15), and this is the unfortunate situation which led many Christians astray and in the enemies camp (See a vision of Black and White figures).
In conclusion, we know that many Christians are not keen to witness and they turn a blind eye to messages of this nature. They feel these messages have no impact in their lives, but they are wrong. Apart from the fruits of the Holy Spirit which are Christ-like virtues, the fruits the Lord talks about are fruits that have produced a harvest through obedient labor in the harvest field (Matthew 13:19-23). Those who are afraid and ashamed to witness does not have the things of the Lord at heart, instead of their personal opinions of how others might perceive them matters. Often, Christians are afraid of being persecuted, and many of us who labor in the harvest field face these persecutions daily, and amongst other things, these are the genuine scares of the cross. If these reluctant Christians were concerned about the Lord, souls would be their motivation. A very dear brother and friend to this ministry asked us to enquire of the Lord for him if he could do witnessing work alone. The Lord gave a solemn reply saying, “My son P must keep on doing work for My sake and I love My son P." Besides this brother, many others received similar encouragement from the Lord, but they ignored it.
As a witness, this message has not fallen on deaf ears; this brother goes out as a lone witness spreading the word of God without complaining. The Lord will duly reward such man, and they are compared to trees which bear fruit in and out of season (Jeremiah 17:7-8).
Brethren, since we are eagerly waiting for the Day of the Lord, let us not forget, the end will not come until we have reached everyone with the gospel (Matthew 24:14).
We would like to extend an invitation to anyone who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ yet, or of you are not born again, to pray our suggested prayer on this link
by faith and follow the Lord (Matthew 4:19). You may also contact us for any questions or comments about this article or our ministry.
Blessed love in fear of Christ
Brother Glenn
