TOPIC: IN AND OUT OF SEASON
MEMORISE:
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 2 Timothy 4:2
READ: Acts 8:5-8
5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
8 And there was great joy in that city.
MESSAGE
I have always taken evangelism very seriously. As younger Christians, my mates and I were always looking for opportunities to tell people about Jesus Christ. Some of us bought megaphones, and we went about proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ at every opportunity we had. I recall a time when we went to preach in a town named Ganma in Kwara State. The town was so notorious for being hostile to preachers that there was no church there, and nobody dared to preach the gospel there. When I heard about the town, I said, "Really? I must go there to preach!" The people who told me about the town said, "If you go there, they will stone you." I told them that I had been looking for an opportunity to be stoned so that I could tell Apostle Paul that I also suffered for Jesus when I meet him in heaven. I told some people in our church that I would go to Ganma to preach regardless of the cost, and some of them said they would go with me.
When we got to Ganma, the people there told us that they didn't want our Jesus. We replied that we weren't leaving, so we went from house to house, preaching the gospel. The townspeople reported us to their chief, and he sent for us. When we got there, we told him that we had come with good news for the people. We assured him that we were not saying anything against their religion and that we were law-abiding people. He said we could continue, so we left and continued preaching. The townspeople went to report us to the chief a second time, and again, he sent for us. We reassured him that we were not causing any trouble. At this point, some of the people with me began to get uncomfortable and said that we should leave before nightfall. However, we were yet to host a film show as we had planned. I told them that we were not leaving until we were through with everything we wanted to do. We hosted the film show, and many of those people who didn't want to receive Jesus earlier and reported us to the chief came and eventually surrendered to Christ. Today, there is a provincial headquarters of The Redeemed Christian Church of God in Ganma.
Beloved, to be a part of God's end-time army, you must be ready to tell others about Jesus, regardless of where the Lord sends you.
ACTION POINT
Don't only preach when it is convenient; preach when it isn't too.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Numbers 7
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE
HYMN 4: TO THE WORK, TO THE WORK
1 To the work! to the work! we are servants of God,
Let us follow the path that our Master has trod;
With the balm of His counsel our strength to renew,
Let us do with our might what our hands find to do.
Refrain:
Toiling on, toiling on,
Toiling on, toiling on:
Let us hope, let us watch,
And labor till the Master comes.
2 To the work! to the work! let the hungry be fed;
To the fountain of life let the weary be led;
In the cross and its banner our glory shall be,
While we herald the tidings, "Salvation is free!"
3 To the work! to the work! there is labor for all;
For the kingdom of darkness and error shall fall;
And the name of Jehovah exalted shall be,
In the loud-swelling chorus, "Salvation is free!"
4 To the work! to the work! in the strength of the Lord,
And a robe and a crown shall our labor reward;
When the home of the faithful our dwelling shall be,
And we shout with the ransomed, "Salvation is free!"
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