Pastor’s Corner: “Infiltrate and Saturate”
Psalm 40:10 (ESV) – 10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
Rule number one of polite conversation: Never talk about religion or politics. Talking about Jesus may not be polite, comfortable or popular, but it is what we are called to do. We are to infiltrate and saturate this world with the life-giving and life-saving news of Jesus Christ!
Can you imagine filling a ship with precious cargo and launching it into the sea, only to watch it repeatedly dock without offloading anything? I imagine silent Christians are much like this ship. God has personally blessed believers with salvation and eternal life and entrusted to them the message of the gospel, yet too few of His children are willing to share with others the good news of salvation in Christ.
What causes us to stay silent? We know that Jesus has commanded us to go and make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20). He has assured us that we will be empowered by His authority and presence with us. God is offering the invitation of salvation to “whoever will call on the name of the Lord.” He has even made it clear that our communicating the good news is the means by which people will come to saving faith (Rom. 10:13-14). Sometimes Christians who don’t share their faith defend that choice by saying, “My faith is private. It’s between me and my God.” But that is not the model we see in Scripture. Genuine faith is confessed with the mouth and shared with the world through words and actions. Hebrews 13:15 (TLB) – We . . . offer our sacrifice of praise to God by telling others of the glory of his name.
Satan does not care how much you theorize about Christianity. What he opposes vigorously is not only how you share Jesus, but also the way you live Christ. The devil doesn’t want us to share our faith because it’s a direct threat to his kingdom. He will do everything he can to keep us from sharing our faith. I don’t know about you, but I want to redouble my efforts to do what the devil doesn’t want me to do.
Do you believe the Gospel can change the world? If your answer is yes, in what ways does your life show others that you believe that? “Walking the walk” is as important as “talking the talk.” Our mission of furthering the Gospel will influence our daily decisions, and our actions will show people that we believe in the power of the Gospel. Every day we have countless opportunities to express our faith through words and actions.
Every believer has been entrusted with the good news of salvation through Christ. It is unquestionably the single most important piece of information we have, because it offers the only door to heaven. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” We have to courageously step forward in faith, be willing to set aside worldly concerns, obey God, and tell someone about Jesus.
In this unseen war, the enemy desires to silence the Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ and the glory of God shown through His church (people). We must not let the enemy have his way. No matter how uncomfortable, inconvenient or unpopular it may feel or seem, we are called to infiltrate and saturate the world with the good news of Jesus!
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton