Numbers. They are everywhere. Some people love numbers and some of us did not do well in math. Yet numbers are involved in nearly all endeavors. Numbers are important for many reasons. We would not like to receive a paycheck with no numbers. Numbers when counting people are not really numbers they represent people. And we all know that people matter.
There is a number that God seems very devoted to: “0” I know that some of you will be quick to remind me that 0 is not a number. So how could God be interested in a zero. Let me explain, the Bible says that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to everlasting life. God does not want anyone to spend eternity in hell! Zero, He is so determined, that He sent Jesus to be the sacrifice for our sins. His Holy Spirit is drawing people to Himself. None of us could have found Him, had He not had the Holy Spirit drawing us. So if God is this committed, ought we not to have the same passion and desire concerning lost people. We must focus on the purpose and reason for the Gospel. It is all about lost people! How much of what your church does, is about lost people? Let’s start even closer to home, how much of what I do or what you do has anything to do with lost people? I am not talking about people making a decision, I am talking about people finding Christ and being disciples and followers of Christ. Who are we discipling in our churches.
If God is drawing lost people to Himself (and He is), I believe He is desiring to use us with the message to share as well as our testimony. Jesus said the fields are ripe to harvest. Since God is that interested and the Holy Spirit is drawing, then we should be a part of His plan and help. We have a story to tell, people to love, and lives to become involved with, in order to show them Christlike love up close. The reason we ourselves are being discipled, is that we can then pass on what we have learned. When was the last time you shared something from a sermon with someone? A Sunday School lesson? A discipleship lesson? Your Bible reading? We seem to be hording spiritual truth and information and not passing it along. This is happening in our homes, workplaces and our churches as well.
What can we do? We can pray and ask God to open our eyes to see things as he sees them. We can ask Him to open our ears that we will hear His voice. We need a committed boldness to engage people already a part of our lives. Each of us have a relative, a neighbor, someone where we work or go to school with that needs our involvement in their lives. We have for so long tried to leave everything for the professionals. I never went to Seminary people say, how can I answer any questions that might come up? You have a “God story” to tell! No one can deny your testimony. Describe for your friends what your life was like with out Christ. You don’t have to be overly dramatic, just truthful. Describe for them how you came to faith. Share what has happened since. Be candid and transparent.
When I was a pastor we could built churches on the attractional model. Have something special and people would come. Today, the church needs to go where the people are. By church I am not meaning a church building, I mean you and I the believers that constitute the church. It is time to not only ‘go to’ church, but ‘to be’ the church. People matter to God!
