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Thursday, March 22, 2007

Being a Christian Student... :)

I shared a sermon about how a christian student should be like... :) thought i will blog it up for all to be blessed! :)

The world needs...
Free hugs is a real life controversial story of Juan Mann, A man who’s sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives.

How it all started (briefly share):
“I'd been living in London when my world turned upside down and I'd had to come home. By the time my plane landed back in Sydney, all I had left was a carry on bag full of clothes and a world of troubles. No one to welcome me back, no place to call home. I was a tourist in my hometown.

Standing there in the arrivals terminal, watching other passengers meeting their waiting friends and family, with open arms and smiling faces, hugging and laughing together, I wanted someone out there to be waiting for me. To be happy to see me. To smile at me. To hug me.

So I got some cardboard and a marker and made a sign. I found the busiest pedestrian intersection in the city and held that sign aloft, with the words "Free Hugs" on both sides.

And for 15 minutes, people just stared right through me. The first person who stopped, tapped me on the shoulder and told me how her dog had just died that morning. How that morning had been the one year anniversary of her only daughter dying in a car accident. How what she needed now, when she felt most alone in the world, was a hug. I got down on one knee, we put our arms around each other and when we parted, she was smiling.

Everyone has problems and for sure mine haven't compared. But to see someone who was once frowning, smile even for a moment, is worth it every time.”

Juan Mann felt that in this world, there is social disconnectivity and lack of human contact, as such the effects of the Free Hugs campaign became phenomenal. From a normal activity like this, it became a world-wide phenomenon.

From newspapers to websites and blogs, we see many needs arising in this world. But what is the most pressing need? Juan Mann felt it was the need for hugs. There are many needs like physical needs such as shelter, food, clean water and money to emotional needs such as assurance and friends.
If you pick 100 people and ask them what is their most pressing need? We’ll probably get different answers. All of these needs would be short sighted except one: that is “The world needs Jesus.”

We see in Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

In Luke 10 Jesus sends out the seventy-two:
1After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Point #1: The harvest is great but the workers are few.
According to the Religiontolerance.org is an organization that tracks religions and religion beliefs all around the world, and they came up with a really disturbing statistics:

* Weigel states: "...Christians were 34.5 percent of world population in 1900, and will be 33.1 percent in 2002." 6
* We receive many Emails from Muslims and Hindus who honestly believe that their religion is the largest in the world. The available data seems to indicate that they are wrong. However, at current rates, Islam will overtake Christianity as the world's dominant religion later in the 21st century.

They track on the top 20 beliefs system in the world and see how they are doing. They said that there are only 2 belief systems out of the 20 that are on the decline, all the rest are either on the plateau or growing. And what are the two? Christianity and those that has no religions at all. You get the implication?

More people are believing in something, but they are just not believing in Jesus. The harvest is great but the workers are few.

Point #2: Do the actual business!
Paul says in 2timothy 4:5, “But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” In Greek, an evangelist means “somebody who brings good news”

Here Paul is exhorting Timothy to be strong, to endure hardships and to do the work of an evangelist. This is the work or business that Timothy is to do – to preach the gospel to all. It was going to be tough: that’s why Paul urged Timothy to endure, even though others may be turning away.

Paul also says in 2timothy 2:2, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” Here he urged Timothy to pass down the things he has learnt from Paul to other people who would be able to pass them and teach them to get other people.

In the same way, God desire for us to do the actual business of sharing the good news and building up Christians – to teach them the truths of God’s word so that they could in turn teach others. This is commonly called Spiritual Multiplication. The person who does this is a Spiritual Multiplier.

I received Christ when I was 14 years old, but back then there were no one to teach me the word of God. Thank God for the small group of brave Christians in my secondary school who willingly shared Christ with me. However after that, I was not followed up and I even choose not to get into a discipleship group. As a result, I had no influence or community to build me up and I back-slided. It was only when I entered the University that I met my first Spiritual Leader – Shirley, who then built into the life of my 2nd Spiritual leader – Candy, who in turn built into our lives including mine and I in turn built into the lives of my discipleship group students.
Some say, “I am not an evangelist! I’m just a student!” So?
Then let me ask you this: are you a Christian who happened to be a student or a Student who happened to be a Christian?

In the book "Spiritual Leadership" by J.Oswald Sanders, he says that God confers a leadership role, and the Spirit of God goes to work through him.
Jesus speaks to his disciples clearly "whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43-44
He also says "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you" (John 15:16)

Are you willing to be used by God? If God called you to serve, will you reject Him?

A.W.Tozer wrote: A true and safe leader is likely to be one who has no desire to leade, but is forced into a position by the inward pressure of the Holy Spirit and the press of [circumstances]...There was hardly a great leader from Paul to the present day but was drafted by the Holy Spirit for the task, and commissioned by the Lord to fill a position he has little heart for...
Point #3: Expect trouble and persecution
Luke 10:3 it says, “Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.”
Here Jesus is telling his disciples that he is sending them as lambs among wolves à that’s “encouraging”

What are wolves like?

- bloody and cruel, ready to pull you to pieces
- howling wolves threaten and scares to terrify you
- ravening wolves persecute to tear you

Wolves can be in the form of our goliaths in our world today who causes us to fall victim to:

- materialism

- lack of concern for God and eternity
o (Luke12:13-21, about The Parable of the Rich Fool who stores up things for himself but is not rich towards God)

- its pursuit of pleasure and status above all else
o (1John 2:15-17, The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.)

But Jesus tell us that we must be as lambs, peaceable and patient, though made an easy prey of. It would have been very hard thus to be sent forth as sheep among wolves, if the Lord had not endued us with His spirit and courage.

Go to persecutions.org
People are killed for their faith right now.

A guy from a Muslim country and was walking down the street, he met this Christian who shared the gospel with him. And in a few mins he gave his life to Jesus.

The man exclaimed, “wow, this is it! How can I miss out on such a truth for so many years!” and he headed home quickly to share this good news to the others in the village. Upon hearing the gospel, the people in the village beat him up and threw him outside of the village. The man then exclaimed, “how can this be? How can they not agree or understand the truth that speaks so clearly to me? I must have left something out about the truth.” And he head back to the lady to find the missing pieces. The 2nd time he headed home to share the news again, he was astounded to find them beating him up and throwing curses and swearing at him. This is happening every moment while we have the pleasures of sitting amidst under a shelter.

The gospel is hard to share, but we must still pass on the urgent message of salvation! What is the most pressing need or business of this world?

Conclusion
In Luke 10:9 Jesus say “Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.”

Have we been doing our “original” business as Christ followers? To tell them that the kingdom of God is near them? Have we fall to victims to the “wolves” around us? Have we been so occupied with getting fame, status and degrees that we forgot the purpose of us as Christians in our school?

In Luke 10:23-24 Jesus said, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."”

Are you committed to own this mission of God as Christ followers together? To see the church in your school expand and grow as sacrificial followers?

I have to imagine that these 72 followers expanded to 120 that first started a church in Acts, then this church grew from 120 people to 3000 in one day and these disciples just kept expanding until they reach Jerusalem, then they scattered to Judea and Samaria and eventually to the ends of the earth, and here we are.

If it’s not for the multiplication that God had planned, and Paul has exhorted to Timothy in 2Timothy2:2, we wouldn’t be here today growing and knowing the Lord.

There are indeed many people with various needs around us, people who are in need to have salvation. We are like the 72, with an urgent message to share to the people around us. We need to open the door of salvation to the rest and to build into the lives to share with other reliable men who will in turn share with others.

The harvest is great but the workers are few. Will you own this business of God’s?
Before I end, I would like to share about a life with you.

Rachel Joy Scott, died at the age of 17, was like the original 72. She served faithfully for the Lord during her whole school life in Columbine High. She persists in sharing the good news and to continue to persevere to build truth into the lives of her friends around her, even until her final breath before the bullet was shot through her mid forehead. (Racheljoyscott.com )

Will you give your life to the Lord to be used by Him?
Will you be like Racheljoyscott?
Will you take up the role of a Spiritual Multiplier in your secondary schools and share about Jesus? :)

I am not calling us to die, like Rachel Joy Scott, but just to be used by God.

Will you take up the call from God?

Labels: campus crusade