“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
The Bible is extensively clear that without Jesus we are all dead. Aside from Christ, we are condemned to a spiritual eternity of darkness and physical, emotional, and spiritual anguish as our punishment for continuously choosing the unsustainable and broken world over the ever-present and infinitely powerful God of all creation. With this in mind, sharing the the Gospel and the impact Jesus has had in our own lives as Christians should give a greater sense of urgency than a lot of us, including myself. One of the greatest things I have learned the past year has been trusting in God and being obedient when He gives me any direction at all.
While in Nicaragua, I laid down for bed one night, but rather than passing out almost immediately I was restless. God began to fill my mind with the story of Barabbas. For those that are unfamiliar, Barabbas was a rebel and murderer. He was condemned to death and proven guilty of his crimes by the people and the courts. Pontius Pilate (the governor of the region at the time) was to set free either Jesus or Barabbas. A classic story of good vs evil. In this story, evil seems to prevail and Barabbas is set free, while Jesus is sentenced to die on the cross (Matthew 27:15-26). I had studied this story a lot and made a few messages on it based on my studies. I was cycling through all of this late at night when God gave me supernatural wisdom and spoke an entire sermon to me. A message of freedom. (I’d love to share it with you, but that would simply be too much for this blog).
The next day, the ministry asked us if we would like to give a quick 5-10 minute devotional for the following day. On Sundays, the camp was filled with hundreds of people that came to play soccer and softball, so before the games started the ministry had someone share a short message before the games started. Most of these men that came to play were drug addicts, alcoholics, and/or gang affiliated. Guys that would mostly only have this Sunday to hear the Gospel and not many other opportunities. Needless to say, I volunteered was obedient and volunteered to share the short message God had given me the night before.
I asked for a complimentary verse and God gave me Galatians 4:6-7, “Because you are his sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out,” Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.”
Our freedom is offered to us through the death of Jesus. He died so that we might be made free from all the chaos of this world. All we must do is give our lives over to His glory and be renewed in the wake of His sacrifice for us all!
I stood before this group of soccer players and gave the message exactly as God had given me the night before (luckily I had a translator for the second half because I was struggling a bit!) Afterwards, I extended the offer of salvation to this group of men. “Raise your hand if you would like to receive Christ for the first time and be made free from this broken world.” Everytime I have ever asked this question it is answered with crickets. But, this time was different. It wasn’t my message. It was the Lord’s message and His presence. After looking around at their friends, six hands sheepishly popped into the air.
I asked them to physically step forward, so we could pray for them and salvation in Christ. Four of those six men stepped forward and began reciting a prayer of repentence, renouncing their own life, and accepting christ as their Lord and Savior with a changing of heart to align with Him and his glory. At one point, I looked up and there were now eight men in the circle, and a little later 12 men in total standing around reciting the prayer.
I don’t know how many of those men will experience the true change of the Holy Spirit and live a life that glorifies God above all else. What I do know is that when we are obedient He shows up! His way is always better! I spent hours on those other messages that I prepared and all were met with awkwardly painful silence. At that point, my heart wanted results so I could prove how great of a Christian I was. Now, I realize it is all His glory and anything I do is Him working through me to further His kingdom.
So, I urge you to step out! Whether it is physically or spiritually, step forward. Step into a deeper relationship with Christ. Maybe it’s an awkward first date where you don’t know what to say. Maybe it’s an awkward reconnection after years of radio silence. As a Christian, Jesus is your friend and brother. He wants a better relationship with you. Step forward into obedience and love and know that His plan is better than anything you could ever imagine for yourself.
