Ashamed of the Gospel

One of the great things I see in our culture today is the people of God being ashamed of the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Oh, they will regularly profess Him when inside the walls of church, but hesitate to say anything at all publicly.

Please take the time to look up the following verses, Romans 1:16. This is the verse Tammy and I use in our ministry. We actually have the T-shirts from Voice of the Martyrs that has this verse on them. 2Timothy 1:8 & 12, Mark 8:38. I could have typed them all in the text but rather you, the listener, look them up and study them as you read them.

We fear today because just what this world has going on in it. We fear persecution if we speak of Christ openly. Let me ask this, Do you want revival? See my friends it is the church, God's called out, that needs revived. We are the ones needing the spiritual awakening before we can carry on the revival for lost souls.

The Apostle Paul said,"For me to live is Christ, to die is gain." In our death we gain victory over the grave, over death and Hell. We are victors in Christ Jesus that overwhelms this world. I certainly am not advocating going out and dying for the cause of Christ here, give me liberty to explain. We have thousands being martyred every day around the world in this day we live in. All for the cause of Christ! It is of my humble opinion, this is the root cause for our being ashamed of the Gospel. We hear the atrocities against mankind in the Christian communities around the globe and we know that is heading deeply into America today. But my friends, put on the whole armor of God, leave it in His hands to protect you and give you the diligence to serve the Master.

I have read so many books on the Prince of preachers as some say, Charles Haddon Spurgeon. I pray God will give me even an ounce of the boldness he fought with. He fought to keep doctrine pure, not church dogma, but, true Biblical doctrines.

Spurgeon said, "We are to adjust the age to the Bible not the Bible to the age. He said it is not our object to please men to rather it is far nobler. It is to please God." If we strive you and me, to please God, in prayer and daily living as the early church, then we will see revival. We will see our churches grow, our faith grow. We will see people being saved, or shall I say converted. They will be transformed or made a new creation in Christ. That is true salvation, when we become new in Jesus.

I know a man saved for 30 years. He was saved, started teaching, then preaching, then bus ministry and youth ministry. He led many to Christ, and many were teenagers and children. He boldly spake the Gospel whether in a church or in a factory, he went door to door weekly asking people to come to church. He rejoiced in having the police called on him for witnessing to people in public. For ten years he was on fire for God. Then all the world crashed on him. He left the church, the life he had known and ended up in the decay of sin's stench. For twenty years though he thought of returning, he shook his fist at God almighty. He claimed he was a man and a man can take care of himself. Then after wallowing in his sin his wife ready for divorce, ready to leave him, he was at his wits end. He told the most precious earthly gift he ever had if you need to go I don't blame you just go. But she looked at him and said,"I love you too much to leave you." Is that not how Jesus loves us? Is that not why He laid His hands and feet to be nailed on the cross? Because of true agape love! The man said he hit his knees and as Jeremiah had cried out prayed,"God I am cutoff." He prayed," I surrender all God, I give it all to you God, for only you can heal this wickedness I have, only you can cleanse this heart. Oh God, FORGIVE ME, come to me Jesus."

My friends, that was me. I am the man. The peace, the joy, the mercy overflowing is beyond my feeble comprehension. The love of my life, my wife Tammy, showed me the true love of Christ that night when she told me how much she loved me. Jesus loves me like that, loves me too much to go. When you find that kind of love you experience revival in your soul, and you are not ashamed to carry His cross!