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‘Be not
afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace; for I am with
thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee; for I
have much people in this city’ (Acts 18:9-10)
The contemporary scene is getting hostile to morality
and ethics and the evangelist will find himself
unwelcome precisely at a
 time when he feels that he must
speak up. Truth is relative and ‘religion’ is anathema.
Christian religion particularly has a foreign label. If
it is argued that bringing people to Christ is a matter
of transforming lives, and not changing religious
labels, there are few takers for this line among those
who are determined to deny the freedom of choice in the
matter of faith.
Missionaries who built up hospitals and schools are seen
in a new light as enemies of indigenous culture. News of
persecution pours in from various lands. And invariably,
the charge is attempt at conversion. Heaven knows that
the charges are false and part of a conspiracy to deny
freedom to preach and worship.
Intimidating events have occurred in our land and the
perpetrators of such events want to silence the voice of
the Gospel. There are the signs of the times: In several
places, missionary workers face false charges and
threats; prayer meetings are disturbed by anti-social
elements; pastors and evange-lists are dragged to the
police stations and warned. At the political level every
effort is made by vested interests to restrict the
freedom of religion. Then there is a flood of
anti-Christian literature released into the market to
create seeds of unbelief in the hearts of the people.
And people who had not even bothered to read or
understand the Bible, crazily devour the fiction
intended to blaspheme the Truth.
The Gospel has always faced stiff opposition. Sadhu
Sundar Singh and Bakht Singh who studied in Christian
schools have confessed that they had harboured great
hatred for the missionaries. Yet they turned out to be
great preachers. There are lesser known testimonies of
numerous others who had once delighted in and
passionately pursued the goal of erasing the Gospel from
people’s minds, which they came to preach later on .So
take heart. Did not the Lord proclaim that the gates of
hell shall not prevail against the Church?
We live in times of gathering darkness, as predicted in
the word of God. If it is true that the Lord has called
us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the
world, and if it is true that we are to obey God’s
commission rather than yield to the fear of man, there
is only one option.
And to put it in the words of C S Lewis: “Before the
service, speak to God. During the service let God speak
to you. After the service, speak with your neighbour.”
In the growing consumerist society we live in, the real
needs of the people—especially the ‘least of them’— may
be hidden from our eyes, but they are there. What are
they?
The “least of my brethren”, according to Mother Teresa,
are the hungry and the lonely, not only for food, but
for the Word of God; the thirsty and the ignorant not
only for water, but also for knowledge, peace, truth,
justice and love; the naked and the unloved, not only
for clothes but also for human dignity; the unwanted;
the unborn child; the racially discriminated against;
the homeless and abandoned, not only for a shelter made
of bricks, but for a heart that understands, that
covers, that loves; the sick, the dying destitute, and
the captives, not only in body, but also in mind and
spirit; all those who have lost all hope and faith in
life; the alcoholics and dying addicts and all those who
have lost God and who have lost all hope in the power of
the Spirit.
Unfortunately those in the mainline churches often are
unaware of such needs. They are not silent out of fear;
often their indifference springs from lack of faith.
They are as preoccupied with the need to ‘succeed’ in
life that the ‘great commission’ is relegated to the
background. It gets low priority. Samuel Chadwick
(1860—1932), answering the question why the church stays
indoors, wrote as follows: ‘They have a theology that
dwindled into a philosophy, in which there is no thrill
of faith, no terror of doom and no concern for souls.
Unbelief has put out the fires of passion, and
worldliness garlands that altar of sacrifice with the
tawdry glitter of unreality.’
Dwight Moody, a great preacher, said that of he could
get someone to think about eternity for five minutes, he
could lead the person to Jesus Christ. I believe that
one of Satan’s best tricks is to get people to focus on
college, jobs, family, retirement, bank accounts, etc
and avoid thinking about eternity.
You and I have often found people too busy to lend an
ear to what we have to say about eternity. Could it be
because they have grown used to the hypocrisies and
inconsistencies of people who call themselves believers?
Probably the most common reason people give for
rejecting Jesus is another Christian. And probably the
most common reason people come to Christ is because of
another Christian. Before most people start believing
in Christ, they believe in a Christian they know.
No man is an island. A Christian is also not an
island. Anyone who professes to be a Christian will be
closely scrutinized! And someone is sizing up Jesus
based on what they see in you and me. They can’t see Him
- they can see us. What a horrible thought - you or I
might be a reason for someone we care about to miss
Jesus - and to miss the life abundant here and heaven
forever.
So look at your life in the light of the holy name of
Jesus that every Christian carries. What kind of
feeling are you giving your children about Jesus, based
on how you treat them? How about your coworkers? What
kind of an employer are you to your employees? How do
you fare with fellow students? And what are you, to
your friends?
Studies have shown that 87 per cent of all people who
come to Jesus were introduced through a friend. We need
to be about the business of making friends … And for
that we do not have to cross oceans or become expert
Bible teachers. He has chalked out a role for us just in
our neighbour-hood. The question is: Do we believe in
the great commission?
“Whatever you do, wherever you live, if you belong to
Jesus Christ, the call from heaven has come to you to
the highest honour a human being can experience. The Son
of God is spreading His love, His lifestyle, and His
life-saving message across this planet and you know
what? He has summoned you to join Him in His glorious
Administration. Don’t settle for anything less.” (Ron
Hutchcraft)
There is no greater honour than to be the instrument in
God’s hands for leading even one person out of the
kingdom of Satan into the glorious light of Heaven. To
be an ambassador for Christ on this planet—that is no
small job.
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