By Not Known
“Our aunty needs to have the last opportunity to listen to the Gospel,” my friend, Ernest, said to his wife. They then decided to fly to Perth to visit their aunt at the hospital. Thank God that they managed to see her and shared the Gospel with her. Although she was over 90 years of age, she was very open and accepted the saving grace of the Lord. A week later, she was called home.
After hearing this testimony, I would like to share my reflections with you:
a. Knowledge, Faith and Obedience
Sharing the gospel requires knowledge combined with faith and obedience.
In Jesus’ public ministry, He had trained, instructed and sent out His twelve Disciples to call people to repentance of their sins (Mk 6:6b-13). Before His ascension, He gave the Great Commission in Mt 28:19, for all His followers to reach out to unbelievers. We are to trust that God has called us to share to individuals as His Spirit prompts and leads us. It will require our prayers, time and money, just like what Ernest and his wife had done. They could have ignored the calling to go to Perth but they didn’t. They seized the opportunity as they sensed God’s prompting, prayed and obeyed the Lord’s direction. We have been attending Services and listening to nourishing sermons. Have our relationship with God deepened? Have we been meeting Jesus in our daily devotion? Are we combining our knowledge with faith in Christ to obey the mandate of evangelism?
b. Joy and Excitement
I acknowledge that salvation belongs to the Lord. We are only instruments of salvation. I praise God that He has graciously used Ernest and his wife as His instruments for His purpose. I saw the joy in Ernest. Indeed, it is a joyous experience to see a person believes and confesses Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Heaven rejoices when a sinner is saved, ‘Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!’ I believe that God will use us, the unworthy, to be holy instruments when we respond to His call.
Sharing the Gospel with unbelievers are exciting too. We don’t know what will be the outcome. The anticipation to see God’s Spirit at work gives hope. I remember one particularly unexpected experience when I shared with some residents at the All Saints Nursing Home last year. There were two elderly whom I spent many hours witnessing on a weekly basis. Many sharing sessions had ended without any decision made. After three months, one of them waved to me at the chapel. To my surprise, he expressed that he wanted to accept Christ. The other elderly also finally accepted Christ.
“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.” 1 Cor 9:19
John Chew