Have you ever said, “Evangelism is for somebody else to do?” Hopefully you never have said that and if you did it was done in your “inside voice.” Because saying that statement is antithetical to what God’s Word tells us. Just so that all of us can be on the same page with understanding where the Great Commission is found in God’s Word and to whom it is speaking let me list three key texts of Scriptures for review. We can start in Matthew and find the words of Jesus directing His followers to “Go” (Matthew 28:19-20). From Matthew we can than move to Mark 16:15. To conclude our refresher on the Great Commission we can than read Luke 24:46-48. I hope that if you are reading this blog that you stopped and went to each of those sections of Scripture that I listed. What a great message that we can take into the world when most of the messages that people here are not filled with hope, let alone eternal hope.
Here is a conundrum that maybe some of you are faced with. When asked about the Great Commission you will agree with it. When asked about the Great Commission you can name the text and maybe even quote the text. Maybe you even have a tee-shirt with the Great Commission in some way referenced on it. But when we get to the question of when was the last time that you participated in the Great Commission, you find yourself not being able to answer that question. You might even be considering at this very moment the fact that you do not have to read anything else that I am writing and can be unhappy with me and move on. Of course, you can, but I hope you stick around, because my goal here is to get under your skin and make you uncomfortable in the hope that the next time the Holy Spirit places a person in your life who needs to know the Good News of Jesus that you are ready to share that Good News. I would also hope that you want to consider starting each time of prayer in your life with a request to God that He specifically directs you to a person who needs to hear the Good News. Let God use you, for His glory. I know that when He does that for me, He shows me some of His glory. Now, with that pray we may well have to act with a little intentionality in our lives to be put into a position to be used. One of my favorite things to say is, “If you are sitting on your couch playing video games or binging on a Net Flix show all day that is not intentionality in allowing God to work through you.”
I thought I might give you some ideas about how to intentionally place yourself in front of people, in whom God will allow the door to be opened, so that you may live out the Great Commission in front of them. Used by God! Is that not the greatest thing to consider! Are you like me and enjoy coffee? I bet that many of you upon leaving your house in the morning hit the drive-thru at your local Dunkin for a coffee. What about instead of staying in your car you head over to a Cumberland Farms (BTW the coffee is better) and walk into the store where you may have the chance to have a conversation with another coffee drinker or a cashier. Now, let me say that the opportunity may not happen on the first day, as the key to successfully being on Great Commission work involves us building relationships. The downside to this “coffee witnessing” is that you may have to get up earlier to find the time. The extra time is well worth the destination decision for a person who is pondering their eternity. A second option for intentionality in living out the Great Commission could happen in the grocery store. If you are like me, just possibly you visit the grocery store more than once per week. How well do you know the folks that work there? Just yesterday my wife and I ran into a young man who used to work at a grocery store in another town that we have lived in three years ago. I remembered his name and he remembered us. He no longer works there and lives in the same town we do, and it turns out will be frequenting the same store as us. He asked why we moved, and of course it allowed me to tell him why, and where the church was. What a great start we had. I prayed for this young man today and am looking forward to seeing him again. Over the years I have become friends with another member of the staff. Numerous invites to him have been given. He has not visited us yet, but he always wants to know how the church is doing. In three years of being in the store we both have shared a lot over the years. Praying for him every day. I intentionally make a point to go through the department where he works. By the grace of God, we have become friends. I would bet that if you put your mind to the task, you can think of many opportunities to change your comfortable routine and get to work with God on the Great Commission.
Now maybe you are reading this, thank you for not getting mad and stopping, but you are trying to think of all the reasons why you do not or will not evangelize. I bet I know many of them. But think of the eternal ramifications of not sharing the Gospel to those in your life. Afterall, somebody once shared the Good News with you, and everything changed.