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Trust and Obey

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Can you imagine what Moses and the Hebrews must have felt like when they faced the Red Sea? Pharaoh had finally let them out of Egypt, but now they were caught between the Egyptian army behind them and the sea in front of them.

I can imagine Moses must have thought, “Lord, what now?” But Moses trusted and obeyed the Lords commands. All this demanded great faith. And it worked! Hebrews 11:29 tells us, “By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land.”

So how does this Old Testament story relate to us as we try to reach our world for Christ? The message is that God will take care of the impossible obstacles if we get going and simply trust and obey. He is fully capable of stepping into our situation. He can step in when He calls you to share your spiritual story with someone.

You may be in fear just like Moses and the Israelites. But if God leads you to do a task for Him, He will bring about a victory — just like he did when he dried up the Red Sea. Not a week before, not even the day before, but at just the right moment when you need it. Our duty is obedience. God always steps in — sometimes in amazing ways beyond what you and I could imagine.

Flexible Methodology

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Have you ever had a creative idea for sharing the Good News, but then shied away from it because it seemed too crazy? I’m here to tell you that even the apostle Paul used non-conventional ways to spread the Good News Gospel so, don’t give up too quickly, okay?

In I Corinthians 9, Paul says, “I make myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible. To the Religious, I became like a religious person to win them to Christ. To those under the law, I became like one under the law …I became all things to all men so that by all possible means, I might save some.” Paul had a clear conviction. His passion, his personal attitude was, I will put no obstacle in front of the Good News. He’s saying he’ll preach the Gospel no matter what, because that’s what God has charged him to do. When it comes to methodology, he’s flexible. He did whatever it took, within reason, to present the Good News to the people of his day.

The truth is that if your method is ethical and moral, you can use any method you want. Methods aren’t important – it’s the message that’s sacred and essential. So do whatever it takes to communicate God’s love and grace to people in your world and God will use you.

Don’t Hinder the Gospel

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What’s your attitude toward evangelism? The apostle Paul had an attitude of unquenchable optimism and zeal. In First Corinthians 9 he says, “We put up with anything rather than hinder the Gospel of Christ.” Then a little later the apostle writes, “Woe to me if I don’t proclaim the Gospel.” What a fabulous outlook to have on evangelism! Paul didn’t let anything stop him from sharing the Good News, and neither should you and I.

When our organization started evangelizing through outdoor music festivals, seven years ago, I had never heard of most of the Christian contemporary bands that would perform. Now, I know almost all of them and I like these musicians big time. I grew up on hymns, you see I’m old, and that’s still my personal and private way to worship.

I often say to people, “Do you think that I personally go for that kind music? You must be crazy!” But, I do like the kids who like that music and therefore, we put up with it for the sake of the kids who will hear God’s Good News thanks to first class contemporary Christian music.

We are to put no obstacle, not even tradition, in the way of the Gospel. The apostle Paul broke a lot of rules — not divine rules, but man-made rules, so that there’d be no hindrance to the Gospel. Let’s have the same viewpoint as Paul did, and not let secondary issues of personal taste distract us from evangelism!