By Ronald J. Kwenda
This is the second article in the series and it is continued from Open Letter To Every Christian.
What is Jesus’ perception and heart for people?
Thinking about the clarity of Jesus’ purpose and instruction regarding sharing the Gospel, I looked at my own life, and asked myself the question, “Why don’t I Preach the gospel as much as I should?” A number of answers came to my mind. One that lingered long was, “Maybe when I see people in the world I don’t have the same perception and Heart that Jesus had when He saw people”. In Matt 9:36-37, “When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they fainted and were scattered abroad (ie. were harassed and helpless), like sheep without a shepherd.” When we see people (relatives, workmates, people of other faiths, etc) who do not know or serve Jesus, who are not born-again, what do we see when we see? Do we see enemies? Do we see inconveniences? Do we see demons? Do we see people who need to be avoided? But what does Jesus see? What is God’s heart? Paul writes something to Timothy regarding the heart of God for all men. In 1 Tim 2:1-6 Paul writes, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone; for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men — the testimony given in its proper time
Surely if I had the same perception with regards to the desperate situation people who are living without Jesus are in, and if I also carry the same heart that God carried, then I would look beyond my weaknesses, my timidity, my busy-ness and my excuses, be prepared to stretch “myself” to walk on the water in this important area. My prayer is, “Lord, help me to see as You see and feel as You feel. My natural senses are deceptive”. Once our perception and heart changes, our actions will confirm our Christ-like conviction.
If God’s desire and has provided for all to be saved, where is the bottle-neck in the system?
There is no question about the heart of the Lord, that He not only desires that all be saved, but also has provided for the same. In Matt 9:37-38, Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
In the 21st century church, we have noted less and less real conversions to Christ. We either have nothing being done at all, or people being “invited to Christ to have their problems solved, or their needs/wants met” and not to fully give their lives to the Lord by surrendering their lives and all that is their’s as was the case in the 1st Century Church. As I thought about the lethargy, I was reminded of a common scripture; Rom 10:11-15.
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Rom 10: 14-15 are of particular interest. People want to believe but they can’t because they have not heard. People want to hear but they can’t, because there is no-one to preach (or share with them). Jumping to verse 15, we know from the “last words” of Jesus referred to earlier, that the Christians have been sent. Here is the bottle-neck….. Those that were sent are not doing what they were sent to do! If only the Christians could do what they were sent to do, then the people would hear; once the people hear, they could believe; once they believed, they would be saved. Ours is to speak, confirmation and conviction is done by the Lord through the Holy Spirit. Mar 16:20 says, “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”
Let us go out and preach, he is faithful to work with us and confirm the word!
Who Should Preach The Gospel?
Now that it is clear that the Gospel needs to be preached and preached urgently. A question arises, “Who should preach the Gospel”. From Mark 16:20, referred to in the previous paragraph, we learn that the disciples preached the Gospel. The word Disciple is derived from a Greek word “mathetes” meaning a learner or a pupil. In the context of the time when this was written, a master or Tradesman had a learner, who was taught a skill similar to how Apprentices are trained today. They learnt an aspect of the trade, and went on to practice that aspect that they had learnt. They did not wait to learn (ie. mental knowledge) and know everything before they went out and practiced. This caused them to stay close to the master or tradesman and continued learning as they practiced. How does this apply to us? When one gets born again, they have a super-natural realization of the need of a human being to give their lives to Jesus and be reconciled to God. As a “learner” we can start practicing what we now know. As we continue practicing, we continue to grow in the “trade”.
This brought me to the realization that even though I don’t know it all, I know something; that Jesus saved me from a life of sin and transferred me into His kingdom as I believed in Him. This is worth sharing! I could share a more sophisticated message if I knew how to, but, for now, I will share what I know. The Lord can work in the same way with my simple, few words in the same way He can work with a more sophisticated message!
This is true because as born-again Christians, when the Lord makes us new creations, He also commits to us and entrusts us to us the message of reconciliation. Read 2 Cor 5:17-20 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
To reach our neighbour, our relative, our workmate or the stranger at the bus terminal, we don’t have to be “Evangelists”; we don’t have to have been Christians for many years; we don’t have to have gone to Bible School; we don’t have to be specifically gifted. We need to carry the Heart of the Lord and know that we cannot stay silent as many head to eternal destruction. We will arise, and trust in the faithful Lord who will work with us.
About Ronald J. Kwenda
Ronald Kwenda is a Professional Engineer of over 15yrs and Managing Consultant leading a Civil/ Structural Engineering firm. He also has a keen interest in mentorship, both in Business and Professional fields and Christian ministry. Having given his life to the Lord more than 21years ago, he is convinced that every Christian of any age, if they make themselves available, can be used by Lord and be a blessing in the body of Christ. You can reach him at [email protected].
