Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
When I visited the persecuted church, there was a young lady there who stood out to me. Besides being an ardent worshipper she was well dressed, her personal hygiene and grooming was very good, she was much more secure than most of her peers and she spoke English remarkably well. It was obvious she had both the favor of God and man on her. I was curious as to why this was so as I knew it was not simply because she came from a good socio-economic background. I later learned this young lady was a third generation Christian while many of her peers were the first to be saved in their families.
This young lady reminded me of Timothy in the Bible. He too was a third generation believer (2 Tim. 1:5) and had a lot of favor on him in the church (Acts 16:2). Because of this Paul was attracted to him and eventually he succeeded Paul in his ministry. I saw in this young lady the truth that family is one of the seven mind molders that shape society. As families go, so go our communities, cities and nations. This young lady, like Timothy, is a testimony to the cumulative effect of the gospel on families and thus, society.
In some ways, we have become insensitive or calloused to the power of the gospel in this nation. On the surface it appears we value revival more than we value the gospel. In the underground church revival is not a primary focus like it is here. Perhaps it is because to be a believer and participate in the church you are putting yourself at risk with the authorities so there is not as much need for revival amongst believers as we have here. I do not think it is that we value revival too much, but we can value the gospel too little. What I saw in the underground church was people pursuing the Great Commandment and the Great Commission and the result is true revival.
I had a dream when I came home. I was in an airport in an unknown modern nation and I was being questioned as to what my business was in coming to that nation. I told them, “I am here to preach the gospel,” and when I said those words I felt incredibly foolish and weak as if I really did not have anything of much value to give. I remembered the words of Paul, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Rom. 1:16. I believe the Lord was showing me there is a real temptation to be ashamed of the gospel as the gospel begins in much weakness and we do not like to be weak. Yet that is exactly how the power of God is released – through the foolishness of the message declared and demonstrated (1 Cor. 1:18-25).
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only power that can secure our place in heaven and truly change our lives on this earth, including our health, peace of mind, economics, relationships – everything. Nothing is exempt from God making our lives on this earth whole and complete through the power of the gospel (3 John 2). That is what I saw in that young lady and that is why the gospel is such good news.
Many Blessings, BW