Why Must We Witness/Evangelize?

Part 7

So That We Don't Bear Their Blood

"Son of man, I have made you a watchman over the house of Israel; … give them warning from Me: When I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die', & you don't warn them, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand." Ezekiel 3:17–18

Some years ago an evangelist friend was going to see a patient at Kenyatta National Hospital. After dropping off at the hospital bus stop and heading to the hospital gate he heard a voice telling him to go back to the busy & crowded bus stop and witness to a young lady seated at the waiting shades. He didn't find it an ideal place to witness. After resisting for a while he finally approached the lady. Though he pleaded with her for some time, she brushed him with statements like: "look at me properly, do I look like the type who needs to be born again? I'm still young & need to enjoy life now. Please look for old people to convert…" The man walked off in shame as the crowd giggled at him. However, less than ten minutes later he heard screams from the bus stop. It was the girl. As she was rushing in her high heels to board a bus that was leaving she had slipped and fallen. Her head was crushed by the bus and she died instantly! Now the urgency of the message he had delivered to the lady dawned on the evangelist brother! God had known that the young lady's time was up. Ezekiel 33:11 says that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that they may turn away from their ways. Had the brother refused to witness, the blood of this young lady would have been required at his hands!

Therefore, by witnessing to sinners you will not only pull them out of their wicked ways but also avoid 'murder charges' being brought upon you by our Master.

Therefore, make Jesus known within your jurisdiction: e.g. your relatives, neighbors, colleagues, workmates, etc. In so doing we will not bear their blood when our Master returns. Sasa nikujituma wapendwa. Barikiweni.

Part 6

Gaining by Trading

"& so it was that when he returned, … he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given money, be called so he might know how much every man had gained by trading." Luke 19:15

It's soul winning that fulfills the principle of gaining by trading. Having received this wonderful gift of salvation from our Lord, He expects us to trade with it; to tell others about the goodness of the Lord. This is the calling of every believer. So that as we trade with what we have we will not only bring more souls into the kingdom, but also gain even more anointing.

In 2 Kings 7, Syria had besieged Samaria so that severe famine had affected the whole city. At the gate of Samaria were four lepers dying of hunger. They decided to risk and seek food from the enemy's camp. As the weak & hungry lepers headed to the Syrian army intending to surrender, God caused their steps to sound like a mighty army causing the Syrians to flee in haste, leaving behind their supplies & valuables. After the lepers had helped themselves & quenched their hunger, it dawned on them that they needed to do better than this. In 2 Kings 7:9 they say, "we are not doing what's right by keeping this good news to ourselves while others are starving in the city… let's go & tell them too."

As we enjoy the benefits of salvation, how do we dare keep it to ourselves? As the Bible clearly states, when our Lord returns having received the kingdom, He will call each one of us to give an account of how much we have gained by trading with the gift of salvation that we received from Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ will require of us to pay dividends to Him for our salvation! How much dividends/souls have you won for Him?

Part 5

Passion of Christ

"The Son of Man is come to seek & save that which is lost." Luke 19:10

In the days of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, the first president of Kenya, he had a pet project that was dear to him: the Gatundu Self Help Hospital in his home village. Now and again he held fundraisings in support of this pet project. Soon, countrymen realized the passion their president had for this project, so to easily reach him one only needed to take a donation to Gatundu for that project. Soon the whole country identified & stood with their leader's passion.

In Luke 2:49, Jesus responds to His family's request to see Him thus: "Why are you looking for Me? Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's business?" This shows that Jesus was totally consumed by the kingdom business! He was always pleased to be about His Father's business: soul winning.

Soul winning was & still is the heartbeat of our Lord Jesus Christ. To be Christlike one should do/practice what He did & what pleases Him: soul winning. Soul winning is the passion of Christ. As His disciples it therefore follows (& without excuse) that what is His passion should also automatically be our passion: winning souls. Every disciple of Christ should likewise have a burden to "seek & save that which is lost" as the Master did.

Part 4

The Preacher: The Missing Link

"How will men call upon Him whom they have not believed? How will they believe in whom they have not heard of? How will they hear without a preacher?" Romans 10:14

If I may use the analogy of electricity supply in Kenya, there are different entities involved in this sector: KenGen (generating), Ketraco (transmission) & Kenya Power & Lighting (distribution & marketing). But even after all this has been done, there's the last bit: a cable must be dropped from the grid into households before the power reaches the consumer.

Likewise, the gospel of Christ has various players e.g. planning, prayer & fasting, financing, etc. But after all is said and done, someone must eventually proclaim the gospel to the lost. That's the preacher — the last mile connectivity! It's by answering the call like Isaiah, to be sent, that the gospel will be preached, evangelized, witnessed, so that they will hear, receive & believe.

How can we talk of the second coming of Christ when half of the world has never heard of His first coming? A minister friend had ventured into some far flung district for a week-long evangelism crusade. He says when they told the locals that Jesus loves them, the locals asked: "Where is He? Is He amongst you? Or did you leave Him back in Nairobi?!" They had never heard of Jesus Christ before.

James 5:20 says: he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death & will cover a multitude of sins. We, the Christians of this generation, are the ones responsible for reaching the lost souls of this same generation on earth. The lost souls of this generation are waiting to hear from you, preacher man!

Part 3

The Harvest Is Ripe

"How will men call upon Him whom they have not believed? How will they believe in whom they have not heard of? How will they hear without a preacher?" Romans 10:14

If I may use the analogy of electricity supply in Kenya, there are different entities involved in this sector: KenGen (generating), Ketraco (transmission) & Kenya Power & Lighting (distribution & marketing). But even after all this has been done, there's the last bit: a cable must be dropped from the grid into households before the power reaches the consumer.

Likewise, the gospel of Christ has various players e.g. planning, prayer & fasting, financing, etc. But after all is said and done, someone must eventually proclaim the gospel to the lost. That's the preacher — the last mile connectivity! It's by answering the call like Isaiah, to be sent, that the gospel will be preached, evangelized, witnessed, so that they will hear, receive & believe.

James 5:20 says: he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death & will cover a multitude of sins. We, the Christians of this generation, are the ones responsible for reaching the lost souls of this same generation on earth. The lost souls of this generation are waiting to hear from you, preacher man!

Part 2

It's a Command

"Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15

In His meeting with His disciples before ascending to heaven, Jesus commanded them (& by extension every believer) to preach this Gospel to every creature. These creatures are to be found within & without the churches. This is a command, an ordinance, an order from our Commander in Chief, Jesus Christ. This last command is what came to be known as The Great Commission — not an option to be considered, but a command to be obeyed.

In John 14:15 Jesus says, "if you love Me, you will keep My commandments/orders." If executing a commission by an earthly king is a great honour, how much more should it be to execute one given by the King of kings & the Lord of lords?

In the biblical times, after Jesus Christ's departure, His disciples dragged their feet while enjoying multiple fellowships & prayer meetings among themselves in Jerusalem. What followed? In Acts 8:1 "a great persecution arose against the church which was in Jerusalem." Then in Acts 8:4 "… those who were scattered (as a result of persecution) went everywhere preaching the Word." God allowed persecution to disperse them abroad, out of their comfort zone, so that they may carry the Gospel to the nations.

Those who don't believe in missions, witnessing, evangelism have not read or understood the New Testament. It's when the early church was dispersed out of the confines of the walls of the Jerusalem temple that the gospel 'caught fire' so to speak. During those days the mode of communication was by foot & by word of mouth, yet they turned the world upside down for Christ! How much more should we do today with better means of transportation & communication gadgets?

Part 1

Here I Am, Send Me

In my last twenty years plus in ministry I have encountered varied opinions for & against reaching out to people through open air meetings, crusades, radio & TV ministry, horn speaker ministry, house to house evangelism, etc. In our local church some people have gone as far as petitioning the authorities to force us to pull down horn speakers mounted on the church roof & confine our preaching to within the four walls of the church building. It's on this premise that I am starting a series of teachings on why we must witness/evangelize. Welcome.

"I heard God's voice say, Whom shall I send, & who'll go for us? Then I said, Here I am, send me." Isaiah 6:8

The prophet of God Isaiah had a rare opportunity to witness a meeting in heaven attended by the heavenly hosts. When God posed the question, nobody in the meeting responded. This is because the responsibility of propagating the Gospel on earth is expressly assigned to human beings.

Our God is spirit and therefore needed a human body to operate in. That's why Jesus Christ took on a human body to be able to witness/evangelize on earth. Though there were synagogues in which He could have confined His ministry, He went out of His way to reach the lost/sinners outside the synagogue — in the marketplace, streets, seashores, etc.

This call made to Isaiah thousands of years ago still stands today! God is still posing the same question today: "Whom shall I send, & who'll go for us?" As it was then, even today God still needs human beings for His work on earth. Are you ready? Are you willing to witness/evangelize? Like Isaiah, God is waiting for us to say, "Here I am, send me."