Go Out into the World

2 Cor 6:16 (HCSB) And what agreement does God’s sanctuary have with idols? For we are the sanctuary of the living God, as God said: I will dwell among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. 

Mark 16:15 (HCSB) Then He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.” John 14:6 (HCSB) Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  The church is the collective body of Christ. As a people who’ve proclaimed Christ as their Savior, our bodies are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. As followers of Christ, we are the Disciples of Christ, we’ve been given a tremendous task: we are to glorify God by living Godly lives and being steadfast in our commitment to Christ. We’ve been granted and called to the commission of leading others to reconciliation with Heavenly Father through belief in Jesus Christ.

I will be speaking a lot about “Responsibility in Salvation” as well as our commission to “Evangelize”.  In the fast paced, busy world that we live in today, it’s difficult to manage the reality of this assignment to go into all the world and preach the Gospel.  We don’t need to go into the WHOLE world, we only need to start by having a relationship with our neighbors, whether it be next door or in line at the grocery.  Yes! I know it’s already challenging to meet the demands of our jobs and to find balance between family commitments and our commission to share the Gospel.  When we stop at the grocery, we’re thinking about what we’re doing next and if there’s enough time to get from point A to point B before it needs to be done.  

I’d like to say that I have an answer to the dilemma, but to be honest, I just know there’s a quandary and it’s up to each individual or family unit to find the way.  For some it seems very complicated…but it may be as simple as sitting down (first alone and then with our families) and making a list of what’s really important and what’s not. 

Start this with a prayer asking Heavenly Father to show you His Will.  You can then assign each commitment a number of 1-5 with 5 being VERY important.  Perhaps when you compare notes with one another, they will give you some idea of what can be eliminated or rearranged to make room for more time to devote to Heavenly Father and the Gospel.  Through this process, you may discover that there’s certain commitments that the family is participating in under duress, you may find some commitments that you all “LOVE” and these are definitely keepers.  Now comes the point in time where you need to look at the lists fairly and arrive at agreements that the whole family can live with.  If one person has an item on their list that is very low and it’s higher up on the other lists…you need to have an open-minded conversation about why this specific commitment is or isn’t on equal footing with the whole family.  Keep in mind that this is not an overnight process and that it may take you weeks or months to sort it all out, but it will be worth it in the end.  

Once you’ve sorted out your busy lives and in some cases removed some worldly activities, now you can make time to commit to Evangelism.  Remember, we must do only things that honor His name and bring Him glory!  When we follow his commandments Mark 12:30-31(HCSB)  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. “The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.” We need to offer ourselves as living sacrifices – acceptable to Heavenly Father in thoughts, words and actions.  We must provide the Holy Spirit with a Temple that cherishes our Heavenly father and has the desire to share all the wonderful things that God has done in our lives.  When we’re feeling a little selfish with our time, we need to ask his forgiveness and remember:  “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.  When you talk to someone about what Jesus did on the cross for mankind, share with them that you too are a sinner and don’t deserve his forgiveness…speak to them with loving kindness and an honest desire for them to be saved.  It may be as simple as asking someone what church they go to…if they don’t have one, it will give you an opportunity to invite them to your church.  When you bring someone to your church stand up at announcement time and introduce them as your neighbor or new friends.

***HCSB is the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Very easy to read and understand…especially great for a new follower of God.