Just remember, when the unbelieving world hates you, they first hated me. If you were to give your allegiance to the world, they would love and welcome you as one of their own. But because you won’t align yourself with the values of this world, they will hate you. I have chosen you and taken you out of the world to be mine. So remember what I taught you, that a servant isn’t superior to his master. And since they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. And if they obey my teachings, they will also obey yours.
John 15:18-20
This month we’ve been partnering with CRU Ecuador on 6 different universities. What that has looked like is entering the campuses and sharing the gospel with students, but also looking for those who are already passionate for Christ. CRU’s goal here in Quito is to disciple Christians, and raise up leaders for the campus so eventually it’s student lead, and CRU staff can leave the campuses and move to another ministry.
My area of gifting and comfort is more in shepherding and discipleship. So this month has definitely been a challenge for me. Doing something unnatural takes energy to prepare and takes energy to participate. There are stories we have of students truly deciding to surrender their lives to Christ and follow Him. Praise God the Kingdom is expanding… But that’s not the reason I wrote this blog.
I wrote this blog for those who are scared to share the gospel and for those who are discouraged because they don’t see positive responses when they share.
The past few weeks that we’ve been on these campuses, 5 days a week, we have found a few believers who really love Jesus, there have been a few to accept Him…. But more times than not we are scoffed at, laughed at, responded to as if we are completely ludacris, and get a “NO”.
I wasn’t discouraged as I began considering John 15. I also considered how Isaiah was sent to speak to Israel. The big “here I am, send me” quote that everyone loves. But if you keep reading you’ll find out that Isaiah’s words format God were rejected. Israel had ears but did not hear, they had eyes but did not see. God was and is still good and faithful!
It would be easy to say that the few souls that accept Christ are all worth it. But what about the days when all we get are “NO”s. What if we did this and we never saw a person come to know our King… Would it still be worth it?
Yes. Because if God gets all the glory for souls saved, then that also means it’s his responsibility when they’re not. So many of us have been trained to look outward in our walks with Christ, considering others before our selves….and that’s good. However, don’t miss your relationship with God in the midst of evangelism. We often see our relationship with those we are sharing with, or we are concentrated on a relationship that could be between them and Jesus… But what about you? What’s happening in your relationship with God almighty when you are in the midst of ministry?
There are so many things to consider here:
- First, partnership. Bringing about the Kingdom with Creator.
- Second, obedience. Respect and service to our Husband.
- Third, learning. Being taught more about Him and ourselves by our Rabbi.
- Fourth, pleasure. Father delights when we delight in the things and stories He’s told us, and choose to share.
- Fifth, renewed mind. Healer gives us new perspectives and better theology as we proclaim His good news and Word.
- Sixth, presence. Sculptor loves being with us, and our value is not in the product of what we do.
- Seventh, trust. We walk into the unknown with the Planner… When you don’t know what’s coming there’s nothing more you can do but trust Him to do what only He can and what is best. Watch Him work and watch your faith grow.
