The urgency of the Gospel

Ezekiel 3:17-19 (NIV)
17 "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 18 When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.

Acts 20:25-31 (NIV)
25 "Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

Have you ever considered how many people you pass by each day? Have you ever felt the weight of the gospel as you go about you daily routine? God is jealous for His Son's glory and he has set us with the task of telling the gospel to all who live around us. How shall we accomplish such a great undertaking when it seems that most do not have the time to listen to the story?

Let me suggest a few possibilities. !. Begin to ask God to give you divine appointments with those you encounter each day. As you pass by each person lift up a prayer to the Father asking for his discernment as to how to share about Christ with this person. It may be just a kind word or a smile breathed in prayer. It may be you hand them a tract that explains the gospel for them to read later. It may be that you offer a word of praise as you are passing through the checkout counter. It may be that you actively listen to those who express a difficult day and then offer to pray for them.

2. It may be that you write out a personal presentation of the gospel and have it copied so you can distribute it to those you encounter. I have found that this one thing really helps to set in your mind what exactly it is that you believe. You may want to have your pastor or some other leader in your church to help you evaluate the contents of your writing.

3. It could be that you take advantage of writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper expressing biblical views on any number of cultural concerns.

4. It could be that you take notice of the obituary column and send note of prayer to those who have lost loved ones recently.

5. It could be that you volunteer to spend time in your church's prayer room praying for the lost in your area and around the world.

These are just a few ideas that you could develop to help you be a faithful proclaimer of the good news. Certainly Paul had developed a way in his day to share about Christ with everyone he met so he could say that he was free from the blood of all men because he had not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God to them. Let us also be among those who have been found faithful.

A word of warning though, if you go on record as belonging to Christ and set your heart to declare the gospel expect difficulty to begin to visit you since you have now decided to go on the offensive against the enemy.

Join with me and others who have set our hearts on declaring the good news of the gospel until the Lord comes for us. I want my last words in this life to be, "I urge you to repent and turn to Christ."

Pastor phil