I was attending the Family Friday service at Heritage Christian Church, where our Pastor was teaching us to pray for each other and let the Holy SPIRIT lead us. People are usually shy about praying for people, so Pastor Bob assigned us someone to pray for. I wondered who he would select for me. I was standing close to a couple of teenagers and he asked me to pray for them.
What could I pray for? One was a young man who towered over me and I knew he had attended Agape Christian Academy for many years and he comes from a Christian family. I also know he was working for his Dad, rather than continuing his education. I didn’t think I should mention that, so I prayed a general blessing over him that GOD would encourage, strengthen and protect him. I mentioned in prayer “he is a big guy, but you are bigger and he needs your help” and that caught his attention. After the prayer he said that cracked him up. I liked his honesty and that he was still in Church.
The second young man also towered over me at 6 ft 2 inches at only 15 years old. He is a genuine Texan, who likes to talk about pickup trucks and play his guitar. He is young, healthy, has a good family and is getting ready to live the American dream. He attends Heritage Christian Academy, along with his sister and he played his guitar during our service. I know he is getting a good Christian education and his mother is involved in the Church and school. I also prayed a general prayer of blessing over him and his family.
Pastor Bob is always telling us to pray for people and show GOD’s love and that will draw them to JESUS. That’s what I told these young men, I said “you’ve been learning the WORD of GOD and now it’s time to do it!” I told them they weren’t taught the Bible, just for their own benefit, though that is an important part. Now they need to take what they have learned to a lost and dying world. They’ve heard Pastor Bob preach and teach that message for years, but for some reason the HOLY SPIRIT wanted them to hear it again. GOD was saying “Let’s do it!”
Why does GOD keep repeating the same message? Maybe it’s because we aren’t doing what He told us? We are told “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22 KJV). Yes, accepting JESUS and turning from our sin means we are saved, but why stop there? It’s important to note: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 KJV). That means GOD loves the rest of the world as much as He does us! His offer is open to “whosoever” so why not tell them? The HOLY SPIRIT is saying to you, “Let’s do it!”
We are commanded to “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15 KJV). You say, I can’t do it, I need help! You’re right, you can’t do it alone, but JESUS said “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8 KJV). But I don’t live in those places? That simply means witness where you live, in your community, town and wherever the HOLY SPIRIT takes you. How about it? “Let’s do it!”
Wayne Lance