“Then the master told the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled [with guests].” (Luke 14:23 amplified Bible)
Last week I attended another church’s recovery ministry to see my son in action, leading those in attendance. One of the things that he emphasized was that instead of holding in the difficulty that is disturbing your peace and derailing you from the road to victory was to find someone you feel safe with confiding in regarding your issue. He went on to explain that the church represents a safe place. He demonstrated his confidence in the church being a safe place by being transparent and sharing the things that he had to overcome and still how he remains diligent in the word and stays devoted to serving the Lord for strength in overcoming the things that try to overcome him. It was a powerful teaching. A takeaway should be that when someone confides in us, we should be trustworthy and guard the confidential information they share. Give help. Give hope. Guard that which has been entrusted to you. Give wise counsel from the word of God. Yes, whatever the nature of the addiction, we will find truth that leads to victory from the inspired word of God.
Now, let us turn to evangelism and impart this truth, since it is imperative that we stay true to The Great Commission, going ye therefore and making disciples. In carrying out this commandment, we will not always be sent out to safe places. We will find ourselves going to unsafe places. Abraham had to go, not knowing where he was going, unsafe places. The children of Israel, after being set free from Egyptian bondage had to go to a land that they had to conquer unsafe places. Jesus had to must needs go through Samaria where Jews usually avoided, an unsafe place. The disciples Jesus trained had to go out on their own to witness, and sometimes they would face rejection, so much so they had to shake the dust off their feet. They had to go to unsafe places. The Apostles had to carry the good news to the Gentile world where false teachings and faith in manmade gods was prevailing. If you check some of their experiences and see that they became martyrs for the cause of Christ, you will see that they went to unsafe places. If they had not done so, the word would not have been spread, many in the world would not have experienced salvation, and the sacred truths would not have even reached our generation. But thank God that they went to unsafe places to recue those sinking in sin and who were in need of being saved and situated in a safe place. One final example, Jesus entered Jerusalem, knowing that He would go through all that the prophet Isaiah prophesied about in Isaiah 53. Pain and suffering were on His agenda, but He went anyway. Ridicule and rejection were also scheduled, but He went anyway. Scourging, stripping, stricken by fists was expected, but He went anyway. Really thank God now, because He went to Calvary, knowing full well that He would be lifted up. He went anyway to an unsafe place. Aren’t you glad you looked to Jesus?
Apply what you have read about unsafe places in your life. Don’t just witness to those who are like you when you do personal evangelism Don’t just get spiritually fired up when you feel safe in your surroundings. Be safe, yes, but get fired up and evangelize in places you deem unsafe. Go to the mission. Go to the stranger that sits by you on the bus. Go to the table in the cafeteria where the people use language you deem profane. For you see, to fulfill our purpose of helping others connect with God, we must be like the Old Testament priests and serve as the bridge that will help bring them out of darkness into the marvelous light.
Sunday, two preachers, one in the mid-west, and one in the western part of the country, emphasized that we are members of a royal priesthood. That validated, verified, that I had to write today’s meditation. Isn’t God good! Have a great day! Be blessed!
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].” (2 Timothy 1:7 Amplified Bible)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King