I had the wonderful blessing of being able to sit and hear Tom Mahairas speak this weekend. Once, as he spoke to my church on Sunday, and once at a dinner the night before. Tom is the founder of CitiVision, a ministry in New York that is producing a vast amount of fruit for the Lord's kingdom.
Tom is an evangelist who's passion for the gospel is unparalleled among any other person I have met. Not only his passion, but also his boldness in sharing the gospel. This man has been faithful in the things that God has laid before him and so God has continued to lay opportunities in front of him. Bigger and bigger things. It is just amazing to see how God has blessed Tom's faithfulness.
Listening to all of the stories that Tom had to share certainly inspired me in my walk. Being around someone with a passion for the gospel serves to kick-start that passion in you. It really is all about Christ! Sharing the good news, the revelation of the mystery of God as Paul would put it, should be paramount in our lives! There are so many people, people whom God loves, who are destined to an eternity separated from God surrounding us daily! God has chosen to use us, in many cases, to direct these people towards Him. Can we be satisfied with always being the person who will witness by living a righteous life? Certainly we must do that, but there are times when we must share the gospel! Why always wait for someone else to share it?
There is a boldness with which we must live our lives. A boldness mixed with an urgency that pushes us to reach out to those lost around us. Most of us do not share our faith because we are afraid that we will be rejected. But it is not us that is being rejected, but Christ. Our identity should be in Christ alone. And we are called to share with others what God has revealed to us through His holy scriptures. Nowhere in the Bible will you find the sentiment saying, "Share the good news with others, unless you think they will reject you." You have no idea how God may have been preparing the heart of the person before you. God works in mysterious ways outside our comprehension and if we wait to share the gospel with someone until we are certain that they are ready to accept it, we are seriously underestimating the power and authority of God's role as sovereign Lord.
Let us revel in the fact that we serve an awesome God who cares enough about us to allow us to be a part of the process of building His kingdom! James 5:20 proclaims to us that we may have a hand in that process! What's more exciting than that?
Tom is an evangelist who's passion for the gospel is unparalleled among any other person I have met. Not only his passion, but also his boldness in sharing the gospel. This man has been faithful in the things that God has laid before him and so God has continued to lay opportunities in front of him. Bigger and bigger things. It is just amazing to see how God has blessed Tom's faithfulness.
Listening to all of the stories that Tom had to share certainly inspired me in my walk. Being around someone with a passion for the gospel serves to kick-start that passion in you. It really is all about Christ! Sharing the good news, the revelation of the mystery of God as Paul would put it, should be paramount in our lives! There are so many people, people whom God loves, who are destined to an eternity separated from God surrounding us daily! God has chosen to use us, in many cases, to direct these people towards Him. Can we be satisfied with always being the person who will witness by living a righteous life? Certainly we must do that, but there are times when we must share the gospel! Why always wait for someone else to share it?
There is a boldness with which we must live our lives. A boldness mixed with an urgency that pushes us to reach out to those lost around us. Most of us do not share our faith because we are afraid that we will be rejected. But it is not us that is being rejected, but Christ. Our identity should be in Christ alone. And we are called to share with others what God has revealed to us through His holy scriptures. Nowhere in the Bible will you find the sentiment saying, "Share the good news with others, unless you think they will reject you." You have no idea how God may have been preparing the heart of the person before you. God works in mysterious ways outside our comprehension and if we wait to share the gospel with someone until we are certain that they are ready to accept it, we are seriously underestimating the power and authority of God's role as sovereign Lord.
Let us revel in the fact that we serve an awesome God who cares enough about us to allow us to be a part of the process of building His kingdom! James 5:20 proclaims to us that we may have a hand in that process! What's more exciting than that?
