Romans 10:14 in the
contemporary English version says
How can people have faith in
the Lord and ask him to save them, if they have never
heard about him? And how can they hear, unless
someone tells them?
This one statement sums up
outreach to me. God has been dealing with me lately
about outreach. And has brought to my remembrance
many things, one in particular, my father. So indulge
me a moment here and let me tell you a little bit
about my daddy.
My Daddy was a simple man.
He could'nt’t read or write. He had a 3rd grade
education. There were 9 kids and they lived on a dirt
farm trying to make ends meet and feed these 9 kids.
So when they were big enough to work in the fields
they didn"t’t go to school anymore they
worked to help put food on the table for the family.
Now my Dad was very quiet. Very shy. When we would go
to homecoming I can remember my Mom having to fix my
dad a plate and take it to him in the car. He was too
bashful to eat in front of a crowd. When he went to
church he sat on the back row, so no one could stare
at him, and when he got too uncomfortable he would go
outside. Extremely bashful, Extremely shy. Now to us
kids he was the opposite, the Daddy we knew was one
who would chase us around and play jokes on us, and
it was his lot in life to pick on us and mama. To the
point of utter frustration, and he would laugh so
hard at us! At the supper table his goal was to feed
you! Teach you to eat "like a man". He
loved me to eat with him cause I would try everything
with him once, except for one thing, that was...his
favorite concoction of peanut butter, cold butter,
and syrup sopped up with bread! YUCK! And he loved
hot peppers. One day my granddaddy gave him some
finger peppers he had canned and that night at supper
we did the usual put hot banana peppers Mama had
canned in our rice and beans, but this one night
Daddy wanted me to try the "new" ones. He
took a bite right off the pepper and in a few minutes
said, oh you’ll like these skeet.. (That was my
nickname from him) Try one. I said no way! there too
hot. He said no there not that bad really try one. I
took a bite and couldn’t breath or talk for an
hour, tears were streaming down my face, sweat was
pouring from my forehead and the more I drank the
worse it got, he laughed so hard tears were coming
out his eyes.. He made our life interesting and
loved. And boy did he like to pick! Only those who
were really close friends or family , saw this side
of my Dad. To everyone else he was an humble and
quiet man. And everyone loved him! He would give you
his last dollar. He was always bringing someone in to
live with us who was down on their luck.
In the latter years of his
very short life. He would go to church with Mom.
Always on the back seat for a little while, then
always sitting in the car by himself, but at home I
would see him watch Jimmy Swaggart or another TV
evangelist and the tears would stream down his face.
He had a pure heart for the Lord.. But to publicly go
to an alter and profess his faith was more than his
bashful ways could stand. He would always say I am
not worthy.
I can remember the preacher
who was to preach his funeral ask if he was saved.
Well he didn’t know what Mama did, and he
didn’t know the Man that we who were close to
him knew. You see God gave my Mama a promise before
they ever moved to Ga. Over 20 years ago. And he let
her know my Daddy would be saved. But more than that
he let her know he would have fruit of his works in
the kingdom of God. This humble quiet bashful man,
who was too shy to carry on conversation with
strangers until he got to know you. Well Mama had a
dream she was in heaven, and there was glorious music
all around her and in her hand she was holding a fist
full of smooth beautiful stones, and the stones were
glowing from the inside out. Then she started looking
all over for my Daddy. And when she finally saw him
he was far off. When she got to him she saw in his
hand that he had a fistful of stones too, but they
were all dark. She took her finger and started
stirring the stones in his hands and when she did,
bright smooth glowing stones like hers would began to
pop up to the surface. Not as many as hers but there
they were all the same. My Mama would later go on to
preach the word, and Pastor a church. While my
bashful Daddy stood by her side.
You see my Daddy did have
fruit of his labor. This quiet gentle man had a way
about him, that when he would invite people to come
to church and the next Sunday there they would be at
church. I remember one whole family that got saved
because of my Dad.. It started in the parents, then
the married children and grown children. One whole
family got saved! And because of one extremely shy
bashful man, generations in that family will come to
the knowledge of Christ.
How can people have faith in
the Lord and ask him to save them, if they have never
heard about him?
And how can they hear, unless
someone tells them?
You don’t have to be
educated to invite someone to church. You don’t
have to be the Pastor or the Evangelist. You just
have to have a voice.
My Daddy would have to go
outside his comfort zone, this same man who ate in
the car would speak up and say, My wife and I are
going to such and such church and God is blessing why
don’t you come Sunday? And later it was, my wife
pastors a church, we sure would like to see you there
Sunday. For him to do this, he had to step out of his
fear, and inferiority. And with this he did. You see
He had pride and gratitude to the Lord. He lived with
a woman that was an alcoholic for 20 years. And he
saw God save her and put her in ministry. He knew
what God could do. He had such pride in her for
standing in faith, he wanted everyone else to
experience what Mama did. And he himself didn’t
know it but the same thing happened to him. He drank
too you see. But because he was so bashful and so
shy, he couldn’t see how in the world he could
be worthy. But He sure did let everyone else know
about what God did for Mama, and invite them to
church. He got out of his comfort zone. The pride he
had made him hold his head up and not be ashamed.
Fear was not present when he asked folks to church.
The comfort zone of silence
will freeze you from being able to operate in the
kingdom of God. So we wait for others to do the
outreach when it is our neighborhoods, our family our
friends.
When I first moved into the
neighborhood I am in now I was contacted by the
Jehovah Witness first. Then some Baptist church in
Blackshear welcoming me to my new home, and inviting
me to worship with them. And I tell you now, it
convicted me to the point of frustration. I’m
not running over to invite my new neighbor to church
when they move in to the neighborhood. I’m not
inviting my family to come to church when I see them.
As my friends tell me there present woes I don’t
tell them God cares, and invite them to church. I
have let opportunities that by the spirit I felt
compelled to invite folks to church, but was afraid
they would reject and ridicule me. So I stayed in the
"Comfort Zone of Silence."
How can people have faith
in the Lord and ask him to save them, if they have
never heard about him?
And how can they hear,
unless someone tells them?
The Comfort zone of silence
says, Let someone else invite them. That’s not
my job; and if "they" don’t invite
them, its "their" fault if our church
fails. It’s "their" fault if we
don’t grow. It’s "their" fault if
we don’t have the funds coming in to make our
church the best it can be. It’s
"their" fault if our services dry up.
It’s "their" fault if it seems the
spirit is far from us. It’s "their"
fault if I get complacent. It’s
"their" fault if I don’t get my needs
met by my church anymore. It’s "their"
fault if our worship service is so dry it’s like
a tingling brass and a sounding symbol and something
to be endured.
The comfort zone of silence
is a place of fear. Fear someone will you think
you’re a fanatic, fear someone will say no, fear
someone will make fun of your faith. Fear of
rejection. The comfort zone of silence says, I
won’t allow you to make me feel inferior. Let
someone else invite them. That’s not my job.>
he comfort zone of silence
is a place of shame. I am too ashamed to invite you
to my church. I am too ashamed to tell you Where I
attend church.
I am to ashamed to tell you
I am spirit filled. I am too ashamed to let you know
I am a child of the most high, and Jesus is my savior
and yes we dance at our church.
I am too ashamed to say I
was weak but He is strong. Afraid they will think I
am too weak and can’t handle my own life. When
all along I know inside myself that the only true
reality is in Christ. Let someone else invite them.
That’s not MY job!
The comfort zone of
silence. It is A place of death., the death of my
church, the death of my spiritual life, the death of
a multitude that could have been saved. IF only
"they" would have reached out.. And done
"their" job, and tell them of the Lord. And
help build their faith. If "they" had only
done their job. If they had only invited them.
Because after all That’s not MY job!!
The comfort zone of
silence, the place of death.
I remember when I first
moved to Ga. I went to church with my mama, and was
so turned on to Jesus, I would take a group of girls
from church and we would go sing to the folks at the
nursing home. There we were, couldn’t carry a
tune in a bucket, and I sure wasnt’t a musician
but I knew 3 chords! Ha ha... And we made a joyful
noise to the Lord, and didn’t care. We prayed
with those folks, and brought a little light into
there lives. My Sunday school teacher at the time is
my Pastors sister in law, and she would take her
whole class of teens and young adults, around the
neighborhood on Sunday after church that morning and
invite the neighborhood to church. Here we were about
10 or so of us , walking the streets, making noise,
laughing, knocking on doors. It was an adventure! Now
we have been taught that you should go in pairs
right? Why we may overwhelm people if a crowd
converges on their home.. Well it may not have been
correct what we did but it was effective and there
were people that did come. We have become politically
correct, concerning the things of God. Which has
allowed us to fall safely to our comfort zone.. And
not have to stretch our faith and reach out. What the
people saw when we got to their door was a group of
youngsters who were full of joy and not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ. That is what witnesses to
people. Not us trying to conform to the world, to
reach them, but to hold up a standard of living that
doesn’t compromise with the world. After all
they have the world and it’s not working for
them! Why would they want that? We were clean and
dressed, hair combed, trying to look our best. The
point is it doesn’t have to be correct you just
have to invite them. Would our youth today be ashamed
to go knock on doors and invite folks to church? I
hope not. But of course that’s not MY job!!!
The comfort zone of
silence. The place of death. Death of a church, death
of a generation raised up in the knowledge of God.
How can people have faith
in the Lord and ask him to save them, if they have
never heard about him?
And how can they hear,
unless someone tells them?
One simple quiet man
didn’t care if it was his job or not. He was
proud to invite people to church. He overcame fear
and stepped out of his comfort zone of silence of
shyness and timidity. He wouldn’t eat with you
because he was way too bashful....... BUT he would
invite you to church. I look at His life, and
can’t help but ask myself.. So old girl,
what’s your excuse?
The story is told in
Nehemiah how he wept for Jerusalem. They had been
carried away captive to Babylon and were now free,
but the city was destroyed. The wall was torn down.
He prayed to God then went to the King about
rebuilding. Read the story. When we get up to Chapter
8 we see that the wall was rebuilt. Guards had been
posted, the priest, singers ministry was put in
office and everything had been put in place. Then
Ezra a teacher of the law, went up on a wooden
platform to preach the law to everyone who was old
enough to understand it. They didn’t know the
law. They had been a scattered people far from home.
As he began to preach the people came to understand
everything he was telling them and they fell on their
face and worshiped. But first, they had to come from
captivity. The world is holding hostage, our
neighbors our family, our friends, and we have to get
them to the platform where the word can be preached.
Then they will understand.
How can people have faith
in the Lord and ask him to save them, if they have
never heard about him? And how can they hear, unless
someone tells them?
Nehemiah didn’t stop
at prayer. He rebuilt then had Ezra preach, the
people were gathered they heard the word and came to
understand, then he met their need and told everyone
to make sure their neighbors had something to eat and
drink, and for everyone to celebrate.
The same man who rebuilt,
and set things in place was not the same man who
preached to those people. It was not Ezra’s job.
It was Nehemiah and the people’s job, to get
everything in place. So that ministry could go forth.
Again.. The world is holding hostage, our neighbors
our family, our friends, and we have to get them to
the platform where the word can be preached. Then
they will understand.
God has been having church
to minister to his people throughout the ages. Moses
in the wilderness built a tabernacle unto the Lord.
We had Solomons temple.. There was always a temple if
it was nothing but a tent. In acts the apostles, set
up church... And sent people out to witness of Christ
and invite them to church. We are commanded in the
word to go out and bring the lost in. We are.. Not
the mysterious "they", who we have placed
all the work of the kingdom on. The kingdom of God is
about people. About people.
My Dad somehow understood
this in a very elementary way. And today we have
seminars on how the proper way to invite folks to
church should be. The Bible says to compel the lost
to come in. Compel them. I have not yet read where
the church became mature enough that they no longer
were required to not compel the lost to come.
In our search for freedom
we have become so legalistic and of no effect. In our
search for maturity we have become of no effect.
Maturity is being effective in the kingdom of God,
and being effective means your about people. If it
weren’t we have no need of preachers no need of
church.
The comfort zone of
silence, the place of death.
If the church is to mature
and be like him, like it says in 1Jn:3:2:
Beloved, now are we the
sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall
be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (KJV)>
Then we MUST consider
this...
Acts:10:38: How God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and
with power: who went about doing good, and healing
all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was
with him.
He went about... Went
about... He went about... doing good.
Wanna be like him??? Then
we have to get out there like he did. The kingdom of
God is about people.
Jn:3:16: For God so loved
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.
Jn:3:17: For God sent not
his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that
the world through him might be saved.
Of course it’s not MY
job.. It’s "theirs" so I will just sit
in this comfort zone of silence... The place of fear,
the place of shame, the place of death.
My daddy... God Blessed
him. For he went about doing good. He brought people
to the kingdom of God. He wasn’t a walking
concordance, he wasn’t a man of eloquent speech,
but he walked out of the comfort zone of silence, and
invited people to church. He was bashful un- educated
and it made him feel inferior to most people, but he
would invite you to church. He couldn’t read and
study the word, and grow into a mega walking talking
fire breathing preacher, but he invited people to
church. To me he was a mature son in the kingdom of
God. He knew a sacred truth that the church has
forgotten, Gods heart and kingdom is about people.
That’s NOT MY JOB!!!!,
It’s "theirs".... So let me just sit
here in my comfort zone of silence....
