“For 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
“Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10
“And when He (the Holy Spirit) is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness… of sin because they believe not on me;” John 16:8, 9
“And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin-; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.” Exodus 32:31, 32.
“For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” Romans 9:3
“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.” Romans 10:1
“My little Children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,” Galatians 4:19
The topic before us is dear to the heart of God such that it should not be treated lightly/trivially. It is the burden in the heart of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and of several saints of old. In fact, it is worth laying down our lives for if we must fulfill the purpose for which we were born and born-again.
O for such a precious heart, Lord I pray thee. I have heard so much about the need for such a heart in this generation yet I have seen so little of it. Many have preached, written and talked about it, yet they are devoid of it. This is evidenced by our callousness towards every form of meeting geared towards reaching the lost and how scarcely we pray for sinners on our personal altars. If there is one thing that is the utmost need of this hour, it is ‘the heart for sinners’. Such a heart was the treasured possession of the saints of old. It was evident in the way they lived their lives, in the way they talked and in the way they prayed. Times without number have I been overtaken by the busyness with duties around me thus neglecting my primary duty towards the world of sinners. May the Lord have mercy upon my heart.
I do talk so much about the need for such a heart but do seldom pray about it. O that the Lord will bless me with such a heart. It is one singular thing that brings incessant joy to the host of heaven; it is such a heart that would make the great shepherd to abandon ninety-nine sheep for one sheep that is lost (Luke 9:3-7); it is such a heart that could make Apostle Paul to cry out in a very demeaning way that he might be accursed for his brethren the Israelites.
Sometimes when I would have prayed such prayers, my love for self often prevents me. I do not love sinners enough for me to lay down my life for them. I’d rather think of how I would have been of better/greater use to them if my life was preserved. But Lo, except a corn of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit (John 12:24).
O that I would lose sight of self and plunge myself into this greatest need of our time. Glorious fruits abound to heaven through such a corn of wheat that has undergone death. Saints of God, thine primary call is to be fishers of men for the Kingdom of God.
Such was the experience of the Moravian Brothers who sold themselves into slavery for the purpose of answering the Macedonian call by the Slaves in West Indies. Such a heart I cannot boast of, even the best of my experiences have been but a shadow of such a testimony. Our generation is in a dearth of such a heart. Sometimes I am enticed by fellow laborers with eternal rewards that await such a labour and not necessarily doing it as an outflow of love for my Saviour and the sinners He died for. O that God will raise such brothers again for the sake of His name. Many have neglected this primary assignment of theirs for the pursuit of mundane things/ the world. In fact, offering for missionary work/Evangelism are the least attended to in many of our Churches.
Were these brothers born of women? Yes! Did they live on this earth? Yes! Is such an encounter still possible in our generation? Yes! Cares of this life never overcharged their hearts; mundane things never pre-occupied them; they carefully followed the footsteps of their Master Jesus Christ.
So what are you doing with your life my brother and my sister? Why not plunge it into the service of thy Saviour.
God please send us such men we beseech thee even at this hour of our great need…
See the challenge of an atheist to believers in his community-
“If I firmly believed, as millions say they do, that the knowledge and practice of religion (Christianity) in this life influences destiny in another, then religion would mean to me everything. I would cast away earthly enjoyment as dross, earthly cares as follies, and earthly thoughts and feelings as vanity. Religion would be my first waking thought and my last image before sleep sank me into unconsciousness. I should labour in its course alone. I would take thought for the morrow of Eternity alone. I would esteem one soul gained for heaven worth a life of suffering. Earthly consequences would never stay my hand, or seal my lips. Earth, its joys and its griefs, would occupy no moment of my thoughts. I would strive to look upon eternity alone, and on the immortal souls around me, soon to be everlastingly happy or everlasting miserable. I would go forth to the world and preach to it in season and out of season, and my text would be, WHAT SHALL IT PROFIT A MAN, IF HE SHALL GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD, AND LOSE HIS SOUL?”
O God help my heart, I am in dire need of a heart transplant; I need a heart for sinners; a heart that consistently brings joy to heaven.
O what shall it profit me if I gain the whole world and lose my soul; and enter into eternity alone. May the fire and passion for souls that burned in the heart of every member of the early Church burn in my heart also. Shame on a generation that refuses to make Christ’s priority their utmost priority. We must all labour to fulfill the great commission of our Master.
How shall we carry out this Great Commission?
We shall seek and save those who are lost through Going/Reaching-Out
“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.” Acts 10:38
“Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” John 20:21
“And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Mark 16:15, 16
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:19, 20
“…And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Acts 2:47
In obedience to the above commission, there is bound to be bountiful harvest of saved souls into the Kingdom. Do not be lackadaisical about it. It is the meat of thy Master (Jn 4:32-34).“The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.”(Matt 9:37, 38)
We shall seek and save those who are lost through Prayer/Groaning
“And I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” Ezekiel 22:30.
“For Zion’s sake will I not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth… I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence.” Isaiah 62:1,6.
“And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”Luke 18:1
“But we will give ourselves continually to prayer…” Acts 6:4
“Ask of Me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” Psalm 2:8.
What a blank cheque from the Lord Almighty for as many as would give themselves unto laboring for souls even in their prayer closet.
How shall we carry out the eternal labour of our Lord through earthly machineries? It is an abomination not to labour over these precious souls. Sinners can only be translated and retained as Saints through much prayer. It is not enough for a man to plunge himself into soul-winning if not commissioned at the place of prayer and sustained by non-ceasing prayer. (Acts 13:1-3; 16:16-34; Col 4:12; 1 Thess 5:17). You claim to be a Royal Priesthood yet thy censers are filled with selfish incense (prayers) and not incense (prayers) for the dying sinners. Of what use is thy proclamation? Why not rather fulfill the duty of thy office and stop such empty proclamation. Shall we prefer to wear the regalia of such an office than to live out the responsibility it brings upon us? Let us join the saints of old in this holy duty.
Shall we pray…
We shall seek and save those who are lost through Giving of Our Resources
“Now I want to tell you what God in His grace has done for the churches in Macedonia. Though they have been going through much trouble and hard times, they have mixed their wonderful joy with their deep poverty, and the result has been an overflow of giving to others. They gave not only what they could afford but far more; and I can testify that they did it because they wanted to and not because of nagging on my part. They begged us to take the money so they could share in the joy of helping others in Jerusalem. Best of all, they went beyond our highest hopes, for their first action was to dedicate themselves to the Lord and to us, for whatever directions God might give to them through us. They were so enthusiastic about it that we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to visit you and encourage you to complete your share in this ministry of giving… Now I want you to be leaders also in the spirit of cheerful giving. 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 (The Living Bible)
“…remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, it is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35
A man’s giving is not acceptable if he has not first and foremost given himself to Jesus. It will only amount to a great waste of resources. If you must give for reaching out to sinners, you must first of all present your body a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable unto God (Rom 12:1). Anything short of this is a waste. Beloved, stop amassing wealth (the world’s goods) to yourself for the life of a man does not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses. (Luke 12:15) Sow bountifully into the Kingdom of God for the purpose of reaching out to sinners and thou shalt reap bountifully.
Join
me as we finally read together the challenging stories of these
Moravian brothers;
“John Leonard Doper and David Nitschman are
names you may not readily recognize. John was a potter and David a
carpenter. Ordinary occupations, extraordinary men. They left the
security of their jobs and families in Copenhagen to become the first
Moravian missionaries in 1732. They sold themselves into slavery,
they answered the call ‘come and minister the gospel to us’ – giving
new meaning to the phrase “sold out for Christ”. They
became slaves in order to have the opportunity to reach the slaves of
the West Indies for their Lord. Their life’s purpose was to follow
the Lamb who had given His life for them and for all the souls of the
world. Their mission statement was “Our Lamb has conquered, let
us follow Him.” As they departed, the wife and children of one
of them stood begging on the wharf for him to reconsider and stay.
But the call and heart of God for these slaves in the West Indies was
even greater than the pull of home. As the ship pulled away from the
docks the men lifted a cry, “May the Lamb that was slain receive
the reward of His suffering.” This cry became the resonating
heartbeat of the Moravian Missions movement. The men felt their
sacrifice paled in comparison to the sacrifice of their Saviour. They
loved Jesus with everything they were and did, and desired to walk in
obedience, knowing that the God who called them is the God who gives
the courage, grace and anointing for the task. They experienced and
modeled the truth of Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me.” These two men birthed a
Missions movement, not through fancy talk, but by living the message.
They lived the “Go”. John Leonard Doper and David Nitschman
inspired their generation and generations to come to lay down their
lives for The Lamb. As it turned out, neither man had to actually
sell himself into slavery. The Governor of the island would not have
let them. His attitude towards the black slaves there was such that
to allow a white man to be enslaved would have been too much for him.
The missionaries arrived in St. Thomas in December of 1732. At first,
Nitschman supported the two of them with his carpentry vocation, but
he only stayed at St. Thomas for four months. Doper tried to make a
living as a potter, but there wasn’t any good clay to make pots. He
did, however, get a job as the steward of the Governor’s household,
and later as a watchman, which allowed him to be closer to the
slaves. By 1734, a contingent of 18 missionaries arrived to help out
and to spread the missionary work to the neighboring islands of St.
Croix, St. John and others. Conditions for the missionaries were
difficult, and many of the early missionaries died. In fact, Moravian
missionaries leaving Europe to go to the Caribbean missions always
took two things with them: A Bible and their own headstone. There
isn’t any rock to speak of on those islands, and the missionaries
knew that most of them wouldn’t come home. And yet, they went in
droves! Talk about full commitment to God’s work! Doper eventually
went back to Europe as part of the administrative head of Moravian
Church. Nitschman returned to Hernhutt Germany, to his wife and
children, later became a Bishop, and led a group of Moravians to form
a colony in America in what is now Georgia. And here’s an interesting
bit: On the voyage over, their ship encountered a hurricane (February
5, 1736). As you can imagine, there was a great deal of panic
onboard, except with the Moravian group led by Nitschman. Instead,
they sang hymns and were calm. One of the non-Moravians (an Anglican,
actually) was very impressed by this. He stayed with the Moravians,
and later studied with them in England. This was none other than John
Wesley, who later went on to form the Methodist Church. Doper and
Nitschman’s work was fruitful. Their mission field is now known as
the Eastern West Indies Province. There are 52 Moravian congregations
still running strongly today. “That the Lamb may receive the
reward of His suffering!”
Finally Beloved, know ye not that“… they that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ever.”(Dan 12:3).Since this is the Kingdom of God’s priority, therefore “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all other things shall be added unto thee”(Matt 6:33).
