Exhortations

Sharing is Evangelism

We share because we care, and evangelism is to deliver the gospel.

We do not pick and choose who we want to share the Word of God, but we are also commanded not to cast our pearls before the swine. Preaching the gospel to itchy ears is seeding the Word that one day they will have a change of heart. Jesus sits and dines with sinners and tax collectors while teaching the kingdom of God… Matthew 9. When the people you are trying to reach are giving you a hard time, follow what Jesus told his apostles “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town” (Matthew 10:14).

The purpose of evangelism is to deliver the gospel to the hearts and souls of those who lack knowledge of the Word of God. Sometimes, God will send you people He called and responded to, and sometimes we look for them. They are like seeds that need water to grow; we are the gardeners who will water them. As much knowledge of the Word of God we share, we will draw near to God more. Knowledge is power, and understanding the good news is more rewarding.

We share the gospel, and that is the best thing that a learned Christian can do, but, for some reason, it becomes a burden that the gospel is not welcome, we have no control over that situation, and we have to move on. We are responsible for sharing the good news, but we have no obligation to explain that it is an error in rejecting the gospel. Some people do not want to hear the redundant use of Jesus’ name, and it comes to the point that the sacred name becomes just an ordinary name, while others do not care because they are on the same side of honoring Jesus. What is the right thing to honor Jesus, through the Father, with the Father, or just Jesus only?

We have to watch our relationship with the Father and Jesus; we do not want to lift one and forget the other. If you fear offending God only due to following the tradition, you might as well revisit the teachings you embraced for many years. Many Pastors nowadays are changing how they close their prayers using Jesus’ name. A pastor with a huge congregation was asked if it was necessary to use Jesus’ name at the end of the prayer. and he honestly answered, “he does not have any clue.” If there is a force of resistance and disagreement in your heart, it is not worth arguing, especially in front of members that are not mature enough to understand.

Our job is not to force what we believe to be confirmed after we share the gospel, and the interest on the other end is only to establish an argument; it is apparent that they want to test your patience and waste your time and the value of the message is not open to being in their heart, what more do we expect with their soul. So we cannot cast the pearl before the swine in the written Word.  

Jesus told his apostles that they walk away and go elsewhere when the gospel was not accepted. Jesus said that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborer is few; we cannot force people to accept the gospel, especially when their minds are set on something else. More people need to hear the gospel; time is as precious as the pearl, and people are longing to hear and ready to accept the good news.

God will not send us to minister in a place where there is danger. Many missionaries lose their lives because of misconceptions about feeling blessed and being blessed. When a Pastor is charismatic and very entertaining in the way he preaches, and you jump, clap, dance, and make a loud noise, 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 already receive citizenship in heaven. During their prime in preachings, they are more focused on what they believe. They supported some of the works of the olden days and the opinions of the reformed ministers, combined them to form solid biblical narratives, and called them their own. They encouraged many followers and collected more compensation than they needed. 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 tried to correct some of their teachings through the modern media. Still, some of the believers I had a chance to talk about already have a mindset that the ministers will not change what they preach and blame the media for fixing it. Either audio or video is not accurate.

Before they passed away, a handful of ministers already said that Jesus was not the only one regarding salvation. One minister even said that when asked by a TV anchor “if Jesus is the only one that can save mankind,” he responded, “he is not in a position to answer that.” This minister compromises the scripture that he preaches every week on television. You cannot change what was written, but new revelation from the written Word can be preached as we say that 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; it might be too late and no longer subject to acceptance by the hearers. Many may claim it is inaccurate, and some even point fingers that it’s photoshop, and for the audio, it was dubbed. 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 and is transmitted to our senses, including our brain, by the Holy Spirit, but it does not mean 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 is involved in human activities through His Spirit within us.

If we are planning to spread the gospel in this generation, we might as well consult with the Holy Spirit that every Word that comes out of our mouth has been directly given to us by Him, so there will be no confusion about the truth when the audience hears it. We do not want to divide the Word of truth to gain followers. We are continuously preaching because that is the only way to guard the truth of what was written. We want to take advantage of the power and authority vested in us by the Holy One. We minister to lift the glory of God and not our glory.

There are many heretics and false teachings in our surroundings using the Bible as their front with a different approach than the traditional teachings. Many believers do not even carry the Bible and rely on what they will see on the wall through a projector. Without the Bible, fraudulent acts will blossom on hand, and plenty will be harvested. Why many of the faithful have been led astray by these false teachings? The reason is that the followers are on to entertainment preachings. They are more into jumping, dancing, and screaming than being inspired by God. Feeling blessed is different from spiritual blessings.

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 Old Testament times, blood sacrifices were required to remission 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 any 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.

Bishop Joseph

Dr. Joseph Vitug, Ph.D. - Bishop Emeritus

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