When Jesus gave the command to
GO INTO ALL THE WORLD and preach the
gospel He did not mean that we should all run out and sermonize with religious
clichés "at the world".
"Preaching" the good news, is not a
"religious" thing, and while preaching within the church, or an outreach
gathering certainly involves anointed speaking, equipping and training, we also need to know that "preaching"
the revealed Word of God takes on a much deeper practical application when it
hits the world as it infiltrates by God given wisdom and strategic influence.
The Apostle Paul
said (in Romans 1:16) "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is
the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek".
Some had began to
question Paul's commitment to God
and the church at Rome because it had taken so long for him to get to their
group, but it was because of his dedication to reach even the Barbarians with
the gospel that he took so long. Paul would also later say;
"..I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some."
(1Cor.9:22b) Paul's approach was not
about compromise, but relevance, and it was not about being "seeker friendly" to
market a church growth goal, but he knew, as an ambassador of God's Kingdom,
what it would take to get past enemy's barriers planted in the minds of men, and
advance into places formerly out of reach but now accessible through the
authority
of our King.
God's
WISDOM often involves strategies that give us STEALTH access before the enemy
even knows we got through.
While there are
times "being bold to spread the gospel" can mean leaping out into masses waving banners with Jesus name on it,
the fact is, most times that approach is not the example Jesus gave on revealing
His Kingdom to the world. We are AGENTS of CHANGE
and that change is not about slam dunking people into our church lingo, but it's
about cultivating TRANSITION.
We are CITIZENS of another country called God's Kingdom with embassies
(churches) that send people forth to TRANSFORM nations.
We are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus, and YES
we will be BOLD to show our LOVE and COMMITMENT to God, but as we grow to
understand our call as ambassadors for Christ we also begin to grasp diplomacy and
the wisdom of knowing when toFLY UNDER THE RADAR.This is not because we
are afraid, but it's actually because we are bravely going deeper into parts of
the world's systems, governments, and marketplaces than ever before to REACH
PEOPLE with the GOOD NEWS!
God is going to OPEN UNCOMMON DOORS into places you
and I never dreamed we could go to "preach" (declare) the LIGHT, and as a CITY
of LIGHT we cannot be hid. In fact, the people in the world are desperately
reaching out for that LIGHT, but they will reject the approach of adversarial
aircraft piloted by openly religious militants.
Luke 21:15 says; For I will give you a mouth and
wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist
so buckle up, launch out in your Holy Spirit stealth machines and go where most
ministers have never gone before.
One Body, Many Members, Jesus Is Lord