I am excited for tomorrow night! I am excited in that for the first time, I will be going out as part of a mission team. This team isn’t going to a foreign country, we’re not going out to feed the hungry masses--at least not physically. No, we are going to the downtown area of our hometown, just handing out bottle of water.
This evangelism outreach will be the first of it’s kind for our church and our youth. I am truly excited. So much so that I have decided that I may have to buy a new outfit! (Just kidding!) Seriously, I am so excited, that I have decided to accept that we will not be accepted by our peers and we will face the reproach of not only our peers but, also of our community, our friends and even our spiritual family. Trust me, I’ve already felt this reproach.
There is a price to pay for being so zealous for the Lord and His kingdom. Today many people are paying that price, the price is reproach. Disapproval in the eyes of others for our dedication. Thus being said, David often found himself being reproached for his zeal for the Lord and the things of the Lord’s house.
Psalm 55:12-13 reads “For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, Then I could bear it; Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, Then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and my familiar friend;” The prophet Jeremiah states “You who know, O Lord, Remember me, take notice of me, And take vengeance for me on my persecutors. Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away; Know that for Your sake I endure reproach.” (Jeremiah 15:15)
How can we prepare for this? Evangelism is spiritual warfare. We, the soldiers in the Army of God are going against the powers of darkness. Before we head into the field, we must remember to “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” (Eph 6:11). If we don’t prepare ourselves to endure battle, we will surely fall to the schemes that Satan will lay before us. Instead, we must prepare ourselves. How? You may be asking yourself, and the best way that we can prepare ourselves to be ready to go out and do battle, is to be steadfast in our prayers. Let us pray that God will prepare us for whatever we will meet.
I can’t tell what exactly we’ll meet. Since tomorrow is a “concert” night, we’ll be met with people who are questioning our motives, we’ll be met with people who are asking us hard questions, and finally we’ll be met with people who like what we are doing and stand for.
I can tell you a bit about the place where we’ll be set up, we are going to be in the “Darkness.” If what the Upper Room (A Christian Coffeehouse) offers is light (and it is!) We are going to be across the street, a place where darkness is prevalent. Instead of what the darkness offers, we are going to penetrate the darkness and offer light. You see darkness can’t abide light and as light we will be standing in the gap. Ezekiel 22:30 states “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.” Instead of God finding no one in Statesville, we are those who will stand in the gap before the Lord.
I hope that this will in effect be an encouragement to you who will be with myself and our Pastor on Friday night. Remember that we must be spiritually prepared, so start your knee battle now (Prayer). Also remember to meet us tomorrow night at the church 6:00pm, for prayer then we’ll leave the church and head downtown! I look forward to serving each one of you as we go out into this mission field together and am excited to see how God will change your lives through this experience.
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