My friend, Jonah, has been trying to witness and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, but he feels that he’s not being taken seriously. One of the individuals that he’s been telling about the Lord Jesus Christ is very important to him, but Jonah feels that this person isn’t allowing the Word to land. He is disappointed in the person’s response, and he feels as though he’s wasting his time.
1Peter 2:21(ESV) says, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” The example of Jesus Christ is one of pure love, and God has made it possible through His only begotten Son for us to be all that Christ is. We are to walk in his love every moment of each day. This is what the 12 disciples did. They were not perfect people. They had made mistakes in their lives, but they delighted in the privilege of walking and talking with Jesus Christ every day. The disciples wanted Jesus Christ in their lives. They wanted to be taught by him because they wanted to be like him. This must be the heart of every believer. If we don’t want to imitate Christ and to live with the same power and love as he did, then we have to ask ourselves if we really understand what it means to be Christian.
Jesus Christ tells us in Luke 10:2 that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. There are lots of individuals whose names are written in God’s Book of Life, but they have not heard the Good News about the salvation our Savior offers. They don’t know him, but through us, they can. Christ has commissioned us to be workers in God’s field. Our blessed Redeemer tells us that our responsibility is to pray that God will send more workers to labor with us for the Kingdom, and we should also be praying for a greater harvest.
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are commanded by God to be imitators of Christ. This means that we must have a heart like him, and we can have a heart like his because of what God accomplished on the cross for us through Jesus Christ. God cleansed our sins because He sent His son to offer his life and die in our place, but Jesus did not stay in the grave. God resurrected Christ to new life, and this new life is the one that you and I have once we are born again.
2Corinthians 5:20(NLT) declares, “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” God has made us His mouthpiece, and He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ. We have God’s Holy Spirit living inside us, and we can speak, think, love, live, and give like our extraordinary and powerful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Jonah understands this. He understands the mission that God has given to every born-again believer. Not only does Jonah understand it, he has the heart of Christ because he wants those that he loves to be saved. He knows that the hour of our Savior’s return is drawing near. He desperately wants his loved ones to know Christ so they can be forgiven for their sins and be raptured when Christ returns. All of us must have this pure kind of love for all those who are not saved. However, Jonah must learn that it is not our responsibility as ambassadors for Christ to get people saved. It’s our responsibility and privilege to give them the Word. Once we’ve done this to the degree that we can, we must then leave everything in the Father’s very capable hands. We have no power but for the power that God has given us through Jesus Christ. Our mission is clear. It’s our responsibility to be God’s mouthpiece and tell people how to receive Christ and be born again.
We must speak the Word to those under our influence and to those the Holy Spirit sends our way, but you and I do not have the power to save anyone. Only God can save a person. Again, once we speak the power and life that is in God’s Word, He takes care of everything else in His perfect and divine timing.
We also must accept the reality that not everyone we witness the Gospel to is going to accept it. In Matthew 10:14(NLT), Jesus Christ said, “If any household or town refuses to welcome you or listen to your message, shake its dust from your feet as you leave.” In other words, Jesus Christ told the disciples, “If they reject my Good News message of life and truth, MOVE ON!” We are not to become frustrated or overly disappointed by those who reject the Gospel. God said in Jeremiah 29:11 that He’s the One with the plan, not us. He knows the plans He has for every single human that has ever lived and is living now, and there’s nothing that anyone can change about God’s plans.
The prophet Samuel said in 1Samuel 15:22 (NLT), “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.” The responsibility of every believer is to be obedient to do as God commands. He has called us to be ambassadors for Christ and to be obedient by prioritizing our commission to spread the gospel. Again, God holds every believer accountable for sharing the Good News about Jesus Christ. We must do our part, and He will take care of all the rest. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“God’s Mouthpiece”, written by KLizzie, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2022. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.