Verse of the day: Matthew 10:14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your
words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your
feet.
Over the years, I have been involved with many evangelistic
programs, and have done the one thing that used to intimidate me…going door to
door. I had a great fear of talking to people I did not know, about Jesus.
However, the fear of not doing what God called me to do, and the fact that by
being in ministry I had to be the example, overrode my fear of approaching
people. Surprisingly, especially while on mission trips, I found that more
often than not, people would talk to us and many were receptive to the message we
were bringing to them. Was there rejection? Yes, of course. Jesus told us to
expect rejection, persecution, and hatred, toward us because of Him and His
message (Jn 15:18-25). The reality of sharing the Gospel is that there will be
people who will reject the message, and even persecute us for it. Sadly, what
happens is that we take the rejection personally, and we forsake the command that
we have been given to preach to Gospel to every creature; to go out and win
them, teach them, disciple them (Mk 16:15; Mt 28:18-20). In this verse, Jesus
is telling those that He has sent out how to respond to those that reject the
message of the Kingdom of God. Prior to this He tells them to take nothing with
them, as they were to rely completely on God to supply their needs while they
served Him (v. 9-10). They were to enter the houses of whatever cities they
went to and if they were welcomed after greeting them, that is where they would
stay for the night and bring the message to, and if they were rejected they
were to show that they too were rejected by the shaking off of the dust of
their feet. Jesus was very clear that this rejection had eternal consequences
for those who failed to accept the message (v. 11-15). Not only were these
messengers going to be rejected, but many could face persecution (v. 16-26).
They were instructed to leave whatever cities they were persecuted in and go to
the next. Today, it is no different. We get discouraged and quit sharing Christ
because we cannot handle the rejection and fear the persecution. A part of the
problem, at least in many of the “door to door” ministries I have been involved
in, is that too many Christians are taught they not only have to share Jesus,
but they also have to “seal the deal”. In other words, not only do we have to
tell them about Jesus, but we have to get them to pray the sinner’s prayer with
us. If we get back to the church building without getting at least one person
to pray with us, we are often made to feel like we failed; especially when you
go out with the church “salesman” who can sell ice to an Eskimo in the middle
of winter. The truth of the matter is that we are told to go out and preach the
Gospel, then if someone does accept God’s message, we are to teach them and
disciple them. However, there really is no pressure on us outside of sharing
Christ. There are those who have never heard the Gospel, and we may be the
first person to present it. We must give room to the Spirit to do what He does
in convicting the people we encounter and share Christ with (Jn 16:8-9). Just
as these messengers’ message of the Kingdom of God stood to be rejected, so we
too will be rejected. We will be mocked and persecuted, some even martyred. Is
that failure? No, it is not. We still gain reward for our faithfulness in doing
what God has called us to do. For us, when we are obedient in sharing Christ,
regardless of whether or not we are accepted, we are rewarded. As a matter of
fact, Jesus told us to rejoice when we are persecuted for His sake, because we
have reward in Heaven for that persecution (Mt 5:10-12). We must be steadfast,
and immoveable in our service to the Lord (1 Cor 15:58), and as we faithfully
share God’s message, there will be occasions when we will meet someone who is
ready to accept Jesus; that one person who has heard the message before, but is
now ready to accept. Jesus told His disciples, and it applies to us, that they
will reap where they have not sown, but will also receive a reward for having a
part in bringing that person(s) to Christ (Jn 4:34-38). Any time we have the
opportunity to share Jesus with someone, regardless of their reaction to it, we
are doing what we are called to do. It is not for us to worry about the
outcome, we must be obedient to doing what we have been commanded to do, and
trust God for the results. We will never lose by being faithful to God, even
when man rejects our faithfulness. Jesus suffered greatly for our sake, why can’t
we be willing to suffer a little for the sake of sharing His message, and
possibly seeing another soul saved for His glory?
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