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Bob Hunter’s Prayer

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If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are also a priest. Peter 2:5 says, “you also … are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood.” And one of the jobs of being a priest is prayer and intercession.

A friend of mine, Doug Coe, told me that he challenged a new Christian named Bob to pray for Africa for 45 days. So Bob started praying every day, “God, help Africa.” After about three weeks of prayer, Bob meets an African American lady and learns that she runs an orphanage in Uganda. She pleads with him to come see the orphans and maybe as a businessman he could do something. So he flies to Uganda, looks at the kids, and of course his heart breaks. He comes back home and begins to do all sorts of things for the orphanage.

Then one day, the president of Uganda calls and asks him to return to Uganda because of the work hes done for the orphans. So Bob goes back to Africa and befriends the President. Through their friendship, the president ends up releasing numerous all his political prisoners who had unjustly been imprisoned.

What an amazing story! Yet this could happen to you, too! When you take your priesthood seriously, theres no telling what God could do with your life, and whom you may touch with His Spirit.

Building Community

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I remember the story of Keith Green. He was a highly influential American singer and songwriter from the 1970s. Before he gave his life to Jesus, though, he was heavily involved in drugs and eastern philosophies. But one night he was invited to a Bible study at a friends house.

The true fellowship in the group impressed Keith. He saw people full of joy and love as they studied the Word of God together. And thats where the Lord really began to tug at Keiths heart. Later he paraphrased Matthew 18 like this: “Its time to quit playing church and start being the Church.”

Keith was “burdened with reaching the lost, and broken with the true message of the Gospel.” And he had witnessed himself the power of community in reaching lives with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Living out the Gospel message in Christian unity is a powerful way to make an impact on our world. Psalm 133, you remember what it says… It says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!”

When you and I live together in the joy and peace that only comes from Jesus Christ, the world, like Keith, will sit up and take notice and our neighborhood will notice too. The world will pay attention when theres unity. Jesus said that in John 17 and Ive seen it to be true all over the world.

Education and Training

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You know theres a phrase that Ive heard many times and I really dislike it. They say in Europe, “oh the American church… its a mile wide and an inch deep.” Oh really?

But you know, theres a certain meaning to that phrase and its this – what about discipleship? People say to themselves, “Okay, I gave my life to Christ. He forgave my sins. Im a child of God. Im going to heave when I die.” And, you want to see them grow!

This happened to Pat and me with our four sons and now our 8 grandsons. We want to see them grow. Not only believe on the Lord Jesus Christ so that they have eternal life, we want them to be disciples.

In Hebrews ch.6 we read, “Therefore, let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity.” That everybody likes.

We want to see our children and our grandchildren grow up and go on to maturity and become true followers of Jesus Christ who love the Word of God, who love the church, who love communion, who love prayer, and who love to share the Good News to those who are still lost.

Yes, Jesus says let us go to maturity. And, we can do it ourselves and we can help others go on to maturity if they stay close to Jesus Christ and His Holy Word.

Service

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You may have heard the saying, “Practice random acts of kindness.” I like it. But did you know that there is an entire movement based on this concept? Theres actually something called the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation. Their motto? “Do kindness.”

People reach out to others in an effort to make life better for them. Some raise funds to help kids who use wheelchairs. Others give out hamburgers to hungry people on the street. One little girl collected books, toys, and stuffed animals to give to kids in the hospital. She wanted everyone to have a friend to hold onto. Thats touching. Its a great concept.

Jesus calls His followers to something on top of good deeds. He calls us to evangelism! “Go and proclaim the Good News” he said. The heart of Christ is that others would know Him and experience the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, reaching out in love and kindness to others is certainly something God expects every Christian to do, everyday. But it should never replace the call of the Great Commission.

Evangelism is social action. It is the greatest act of kindness in the whole universe. We should share with others how to experience a personal relationship with Jesus and with God the Father, giving them the hope of eternal life and heaven when they die. So, do good deeds on a practical level and do the greatest good deed… give people the Good News of the cross and resurrection of Christ.

Evangelism

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Did you know that Christian missionaries brought the gospel message to the Fiji Islands almost two centuries ago? A few years back a European count visited the islands. He had heard of its beautiful girls, wild dances and pristine beaches. But when he got there he was sorely disappointed. The Fijians were modestly dressed and not partying like he had hoped.

The man complained to the tribal chief. He said that they never should have listened to the missionaries-that their message was outdated and boring. The chief looked at the count. He said, “Do you see that rock over there? Before the missionaries came, we would take people like you and cut off their heads on that rock. Then we boiled them, and ate them. So, youd better thank the missionaries that they came and that we believed their message of the love of God. Because if it wasnt for them, wed have chopped your head off right now and youd be boiling for dinner tonight.” What a great response!

In Matthew chapter 28, Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” The life of the people around you may not seem as barbaric as that of 200 years ago in the Pacific. But they are still living in darkness. We have the message of light. We have the message of Jesus Christ. It is our duty, and our privilege, to let them know that theres a Savior who can liberate us from everything that enslaves us.