Evangelism Part 1: Obedience Series
Evangelism Part 1- Obedience
Jesus told his apostles to walk away and go somewhere else when the gospel was not accepted. Jesus said that if the harvest is plentiful, but the laborer is few, we cannot force people to accept the gospel, especially when their mind is set on something else. More people need to hear the gospel; time is as precious as the pearl. Some people long to hear and are ready to accept the good news.
God will not send us to minister in a place where there is danger. Many missionaries lost and still losing their lives because of misconceptions about feeling blessed and being blessed. When a Pastor is charismatic and very entertaining in the way he preaches, you jump, clap, dance, and make loud noises. However, is that a blessing or just a feeling of being blessed? Is it praising God or praising the Pastor? When one disagrees with the outcome of the service, the spirit is not in one accord. It’s just a feeling, but when the heart speaks in unity, it’s a blessing. Everyone should please each other so blessings will flow and not compromise.
Many anointed preachers are already back in their spiritual homes and probably have already received citizenship in heaven. During their prime in preachings, they are more focused on what they believe. They supported some of the olden days’ works and the reformed ministers’ opinions, combining them to form a solid biblical narrative and calling them their own. These preachers sometimes encourage many followers and collect more compensation than they need. Many become millionaires, unlike the Lord Jesus, a savior sent by the Savior who didn’t make himself rich to deliver the message of the Father.
As advanced as we are now in technology, these ministers try to correct some of their teachings through the modern media. However, some of the believers I have had a chance to talk about this matter already have a mindset that the ministers will not be able to change. Therefore, they sometimes blame the media, and we find that either audio or video is inaccurate.
Before they passed away, a handful of ministers said that Jesus was not the only way to salvation. There is this one minister who, when asked by a TV anchor, “if Jesus is the only one that can save mankind,” responded, “he is not in a position to answer that.” This minister compromises the scripture that he preaches every week on television. What was written, no one could change. Nevertheless, new revelations from the written word that were hidden before are now being revealed and should and can be preached. As we say, the Bible is progressive and cannot be outdated to fit the coming generation.
What we have preached for many years and later on in our lives we tried to recount, it might be too late and may no longer be subject to acceptance by the hearers. Many may claim it is inaccurate, and some may point fingers that it may be photoshop, and for the audio, it may have been dubbed. For example, the teachings of yesteryears say that women cannot be pastors, but now there are women pastors and bishops. If what was written in the Bible is no longer being followed, what will happen in our belief system next? Is this a perversion of the truth to please the demanding groups? Is the Bible not meant for the present time?
Any new concept can never replace the truth. We can have a new vision, but if it is not from God, it will only come back void. There will be no hindrances when direct revelation comes from above transmitted to our senses, including our brain, by the Holy Spirit, but it does not mean that you can change what was written. God still reveals and conceals things according to His pleasure, and there is nothing humans can do about it. Therefore, we must be mindful that God is still in control and involved in human activities through His Spirit within us.
God never takes His involvement out in human activities, from Adam to Moses in the Old Testament, to Jesus and the Apostles to Paul in the New Testament, and through John in Revelation to us. God is in control; all are God’s mandated dispensation of time. The people He called chose and elected to administer His purpose and will for His children not to be broken. What was forbidden before is still in place today?
In the Old Testament times, blood sacrifices were required for the remission of sin, and animals had to be sacrificed. In the New Testament Times, John the Baptist introduced baptism, and water is required (Lev. 17:11; Mk. 1:4; Acts 2:38); after the Apostles, the teachings of Paul about the doctrine of the cross surfaces that the world was redeemed through the blood of Jesus. While the blood of redemption flows, the water of salvation also flows—Ephesians 1:7; Romans 3:24.
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
2 Timothy 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as approved,[a] a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
God is all in all.