Imagine that Jesus came to earth and
settled in a local church. There He preached every Sunday and did everything
routinely as local churches do, only loving the members and meeting their
needs. How would that have made a difference to the world and the earth?
Each individual needs a
global vision in addition to a local vision. In Acts 1:8, Jesus said to the one
hundred and twenty gathered in the upper room: “But you will receive power
when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
This was the first church
representing all the true churches ever to exist until Jesus comes again. He
doesn’t tell them to witness first in Jerusalem, then in Judea and Samaria and
then to the ends of the earth as it is often preached from the pulpit: first
your town, then your county or province, then your country and then the earth. He tells
them all to be His witnesses everywhere, at the same time. This is why the Holy
Spirit soon scattered them all over the known world and called Paul to
evangelize the Gentiles. He probably also allowed an attack on Paul and
Barnabas’ relationship, causing them to have an argument as recorded in Acts15:36-41, so they could split up.
God wants us to do the
maximum we can as individuals: help in the local church as well as fervently
pray for and sacrificially support missions and international evangelism and
discipleship. We can give money, prayer, and physical support, but most of all,
we need to be available for the Lord to send us wherever He wants. He has
called many men and women to do great things, but some sit in comfort,
disobedient, simply because their local leaders are not preparing them for the
work of the ministry, challenging and sending them (Ephesians 4:11-16). If we equip all members of
a local congregation for ministry tasks, then send them, the local church will
soon see a big change. Volunteering does not mean everybody planning their own
work. Project leaders coordinate the volunteers to meet the project’s needs
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
There must also be an urgency about it. Jesus said in John
9:4, 5: “‘As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night
is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the
world.’” He also said in John 14:12: “‘I tell you the truth, anyone who has
faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than
these, because I am going to the Father.’”
Because
He said we are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14), the words in John 9:4, 5
above apply to us as well. The night is
coming. We can’t live for ourselves anymore. We need to realize that we don’t need all our
things and -comfort. If we downscale as Jesus told the rich young ruler in Mark10:17-22, we will see how much time and energy we have to be the salt of the earth.
There is much to fight for and much to
teach. For example, children in many countries are becoming a serious
problem for society, schools, and the government because of a lack of
discipline. We as Christians have learned from the Bible how to bring up our
children. The Lord has also risen up anointed authors and speakers (e.g. on YouTube) on child rearing (parenting). If we
would get out of our comfort zones and make the world aware of the need to train
parents properly in child rearing (parenting), respect, and discipline, the world would be
a different place in the next generation.
As
Peter said, “Through these, he has given us his very great and
precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine
nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this
very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness,
knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance;
and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to
brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing
measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is
nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his
past sins” (2 Peter 1:4-9).Salt purifies
To be continued
For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way. For more information see http://t-a-c.co.za
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