TWC – The Word Connects: Connecting you to God and to one another … Friday 23 May 2014
Have you ever felt ashamed of the testimony about our Lord Jesus Christ? Most Christians would respond with a resounding “no, I’m not!” But is it really? Are we really not ashamed of our Lord? The Apostle Paul told Timothy, a young pastor, not to be ashamed of the testimony about Jesus in 2Tim.1:8 and reminded him of what the Lord had done for them and of the grace that had been given to them in Christ Jesus. The Christian faith was new and foreign to the people at that time. It is no surprise why many would question its teaching and claims. As a young minister, Timothy found the communication of the gospel difficult and challenging. It is always difficult to tell people that what they have always believed is actually wrong. Therefore, Timothy displayed signs of being ashamed of the Lord. The situation today may not be altogether different. As believers in Christ, we have all been commissioned to preach the gospel and we often have to do it under very difficult conditions too. Sometimes, the harsh conditions make us shrink back and appear to be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. For instance, how do you share the gospel with an atheist? Or how do you share with someone who believes in a universal God who will save everyone? Or how do you share with someone who believes in Jesus but not the Bible as the Word of God? There are answers to each of these questions but mere intellectual engagement is insufficient and could even be downright futile. This is because we are not merely fighting an intellectual battle but a spiritual one. And spiritual battles must be fought spiritually, with much prayer and intercession for those who are lost. My father was an educated man and he graduated with a Social Studies diploma from the former University of Singapore in 1964. After my conversion to Christianity in 1986, we had many intellectual discussions about the Christian faith. One of his big stumbling blocks was, how can a good God allow poverty and apartheid to exist? As a young believer, I just could not meet his challenges and I could only pray while I also continued to engage him intellectually. While I was at university in Australia in 1991, I received a letter from my father that he had turned to Christ and was attending Faith Methodist Church every Sunday. That was not all, he was also attending Adult Sunday School before the service and the Equipping the Saints Course after service! He spent the entire Sunday morning every week in church. He was hungry to know more, he humbly learned from the teachers and pastors and he read his Bible daily. After my father passed away in 1996, we found his testimony which he wrote as a requirement for his water baptism. In it, he shared that he finally believed in Christ because he realized that God had answered his prayer and desperate cry for help to change his son and make him serious about his life and studies. He was referring to me. My father witnessed the power of God to transform a failure in life to someone who finally found purpose and meaning in life, growth and spiritual things. Never underestimate the power of prayer when you are met with a difficult situation or difficult persons to share your faith with. Never focus merely on intellectual discussions and engagement. Instead, pray and intercede for those who do not know Him, those who are lost in their own world and secular philosophies, and let God step in and do something. Sometimes, our many words can hinder God’s Word from piercing a person’s heart and mind. As you walk with God today, enjoy Him, delight in His Word and never shrink back or be ashamed of our Blessed Lord. In your attempt to reach those who are lost, speak the truth in love and pray unceasingly. Fight the spiritual battle spiritually and watch what God will do in response to your labour in Him. Have a great day!
Today’s Bible text: “8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” (2Tim.1:8-10)
Pastor Barnabas Chong
Aldersgate Methodist Church
revbarnz@gmail.com
Today’s recommended video: I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel (Brooklyn Tabernacle) … Click here for YouTube link
twcdaily.com 