Life Magazine

THROW OUT THE LIFELINE

A man once sailed off the pacific coast in company with his son and a friend of his son when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to the shore. The waves were so high that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized. Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: to which boy he would throw the other end of the life-line. He only had seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian and that his son’s friend was not. The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of rolling waves. As the father yelled out, ‘I love you, son!’, he threw out the life-line to his son’s friend. By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of night. His body was never recovered. Though it was a painful parting with emotional toll, he knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus. But he could not bear the thought of his son’s friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus, in unquenchable fire.
The sinner is pictured in Scriptures as drowning in the ocean of iniquity. And he has no power to rescue himself. The best he can do is make resolutions which are hardly kept. The thought of a sinner stepping into endless eternity of torments without Jesus should spur every believer to throw out the lifeline to souls drowning in the ocean of sin. The message of the gospel is the lifeline every creature needs to grab hold of to be pulled out of the ruin of sin. It is the power of the gospel that can truly liberate and restore him to fellowship with his Maker.
The need to rescue the perishing should fill us with holy zeal to be faithful and diligent to perform our calling. Because of the urgency of this task, we ought to be ready to exert ourselves to the very utmost. No sacrifice should be considered too great to make for the sole reason of saving a lost soul. Therefore, we must be ready to commit our talents, skills, monies, energies and other resources to the progress of God’s work.
Our Lord Himself stresses the great urgency of the work of the great commission when He said: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:19,20).

January Edition of the Life magazine looks at :

1. How to effectively manage hypertension

2. What you must watch against in the New Year

3. Rationale behind believers' fearlessness

4. What to remember in the new year

So, have you got a copy?

Pastor W. F. Kumuyi bares his mind on issues that border on Christian living on this page - Life Magazine page - from time to time. So, keep a date with him.

NEEDED: VOLUNTEERS FOR JESUS

When the church began on the day of Pentecost, the northern part of Africa – Egypt, Libya, etc. were the earliest parts of the world to be reached. In fact, the church there was very strong and well established. Soon, the church became institutionalized. All that the leaders and members of the church showed interest in was administrative routines of the church, not winning of souls. It abandoned Christ’s Great Commission to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” for a so-called ministry of maintenance.
As the older generation of Christians passed on, a vacuum was created. This was because the younger generation of Christians knew nothing about soulwinning, about evangelism, nor were they passionate about reaching out to sinners outside the church. Thus, the preaching of the gospel to “the whole world” was left in the hands of a handful of individuals. Soon, the fire of evangelism fizzled out completely. This gave impetus to enemies of the gospel to almost stamp out Christianity from North Africa. It can be reasoned therefore, that the lethargy and indifference of the church and its members are largely responsible for the difficulty in reaching most of Northern Africa and the Middle East with the gospel today.

Fire

In our case, evangelism fire was literally burning in believers’ hearts and lives way back in the 1970s. As a matter of fact, everyone who lived in Lagos between early 1970s and early 1980s cannot forget in a hurry how they could not enter any public bus without hearing a preacher talk about Jesus and the salvation His death brought, about repentance and new birth, and about living the new life and eternity. The effects of evangelism and soulwinning were felt in homes and offices, in lives and neighbourhood, in businesses and interactions. The fear of God permeated the hearts of those who were saved and those who were yet to be saved.

Lukewarmness

But with the passage of time, a pall of indifference fell on the land and preachers became silent. Evangelism programmes stopped. Distribution of tracts ceased. Like the old Northern Africa church, today’s church has got herself distracted from her God-ordained business of reaching the world with the gospel with non-essentials. Rather than preach, she is so busy with so many other good, religious activities that the fire of evangelism is dying out fast.

It is now becoming increasingly difficult to have people take the gospel out of urban cities to rural areas. All that many Christians are interested in these days are activities that keep them seated on church pews rather than get them involved in mission fields, harvesting souls. They have lost the fire of evangelism and are not keen on regaining it. But the Great commission cannot be fulfilled nor the world evangelized if Christian ministry is left to a dedicated few. All Christians, including those in secular employments, must be involved in the sacred, spiritual ministry.

God needs an army of believers who will willingly offer to join the whole church in taking the whole gospel to the whole world. You and I must join this chariot if the preaching of the gospel must continue beyond our time.


PASTOR W. F. KUMUYI
GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT
DEEPER CHRISTIAN LIFE MINISTRY