“From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Now as Jesu was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. (Matthew 4:17-22 NASB)
In the first verse of the passage above Jesus is preaching about the kingdom. In the next verse Jesus is doing kingdom building. In the first verse, we visualize Jesus’ pulpit is wherever He made it. In the next verse, away from the pulpit, we see Jesus, prospecting, inviting some fishermen to follow Him. Think of it this way. In the first verse Jesus was “in church.” In the second verse Jesus was being the church “outside of the church.”
Jesus’ interaction, the one that gained two followers, Peter, and Andrew, happened outside the church. The point I am trying to make is, “It ain’t going to always happen in the church.” Our opportunities to have a positive encounter and a productive outcome for the sake of the kingdom of God ain’t going to always happen in the church.
It is relatively easy to have a positive encounter with men and women when they come to church, more so the former. There seems to be something safe about such interaction with others when they come to church. We suspect there is a common interest. At the church it is easier to overcome our fears of what might happen because, after all, we are in the church. But listen! Our interaction with potential disciples; our opportunities to recruit kingdom building workers ain’t always going to happen in the church.
After Jesus’ talking, appropriately called preaching, He was walking, outside of the church and He initiates a personal evangelism type conversation with two brothers, Peter, and Andrew. Listen again, just for a second and I will be done. If we are going to interact with prospects; if we are going to be effective in soul winning as we go through our unique walks through life, we need to be proactive in our interactions for the sake of saving souls outside the church. Remember that when it comes to meeting Jesus’ expectations to make disciples, it ain’t always going to happen in the church.
Now that you have read the above, react to the words, respond accordingly, and really make things happen during the times that you are not within the church walls. Reach out to men, women, boys, and girls. Take the initiative and introduce others to a better way indeed! Have a productive Friday. Be a real Christian. Be blessed!
“Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter. – Charles Spurgeon
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King