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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.

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 He said that they never should have listened to the missionaries-that their message was outdated and boring.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.