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NASB | Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, |
Bible Question:
I just read a wonderful article and wanted to share it with you. It was written by a christian preacher from Tennessee. Finding Patrick On a recent visit to Tanzania I had the privilege to go with some fellow christians to the city of Wanza up on the shores of Lake Victoria. We drove clear across the Serengeti plains in Tanzania and arrived about dark. Boaz, one of our fellow christian travellers found us a place to stay and then told us he was going to find Patrick, the adopted son of Francis and Margaret Wechesa. Understand, we were in the second largest city in Tanzania with over a million people, and Boaz is on foot setting out at dark to find a man who has no phone and no address! About three hours later Boaz returned to where we were staying and announced, "I have found Patrick and have gotten the address to Isaac's house. We will go there in the morning. Well, my first question was, "Boaz, how in the world did you find Patrick?" Boaz replied, "I tracked him down through his Bible studies. I asked a man if they knew Patrick and he told me he did not know the man's name but there was a fellow who was teaching the Gospel in that area and he gave me directions to the street where he had been teaching. I went there and talked to others who had heard him, and eventually I found someone who knew where he lived." Unbelievable!! A million people, one fellow, no phone, no address, in the dark of the night!! Only in Africa! I got to thinking about my own life and wondered if anyone could track me down by the people I had been teaching the Gospel. I would not be far from the mark to say there was a sudden shame that came over me at the realization that, while I would be considered faithful to the Lord, and evangelistic in nature with a desire to spread the truth, I could not honestly think of any street in my home town where people could tell a stranger that, "We know a man who has been teaching the Gospel and we will take you to him." No question about it -- I must do better. God said to teach His Word and it would not come back void. He said to plant the Seed (His Word) and He would bring forth the increase. That's what I need to be doing. One day someone may be trying to find me and I would hope someone would tell them, "I know that man. He is teaching the Gospel; let me show you where he lives." Thank you, Patrick, for demonstrating what I should be doing in the Kingdom right in my own city. End of article. Oh, if we could only enjoy the wonderful sense and tremendous value of Christianity like Patrick shows his fellow family members. Would anyone have a suggestion as to how we could get a little closer to this standard of real and genuine Christianity? Blessings to you for reading this far. Country Girl |
Bible Answer: Ouch!!!! You have hit the heart of the problem. We are keeping the gospel in the meeting place instead of taking it to the market place. Why? In most instances a Pastor' success and the size of his pay is decided by the number of people attending or size of offering. Where do you think they are going to put their focus? Lay people think it isn't their problem, they paid good money to insure that they don't have to go out and witness. Seems like everyone has forgotten Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts chapter 1 Church is to equip the saints to do the work of the Lord. Therefore it really isn't the pastor's job to win souls it is job of everyone that attends church and that should be everyone that calls himself a Christian believer. I imagine it is going to be real embarrassing in heaven when each person is asked how many they shared Jesus with. And even more embarrassing when asked how many lead another in the sinner's prayer. Perhaps that is the clothing the man hadn't put on when he was cast out of the wedding because of inappropriate attire. I can not see how someone can say they believe in Jesus and not tell everyone they meet that doesn’t know Jesus about Jesus. To me that is a contradiction of terms. And you know what that may just be how God and Jesus see it. EdB |