Have you ever felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to share the gospel? You’ve sensed an open door and an opportunity, but for one reason or another you held back?
This happened to me last week when I was in a hurry at the gym and didn’t stop to talk to a guy. He was being friendly, he’d asked me to spot him, and it would have been easy to initiate a conversation with him. But I kept my headphones in and bailed.
In my head, I thought I could just run into him later.
Have you done that?
A thought occurred to me, what if there is no “later”?
How do we not squander opportunities when God gives them to us? I’ve wanted to grow in my sense of urgency to talk to my friends and neighbors about Jesus.
An Urgency in Luke 12-13
Recently I’ve been studying through the book of Luke and been struck by a sermon Jesus gives in Luke chapters 12-13. There is a strong repetition of how urgent the Gospel call is and the need to respond.
He starts in 12:1-12 proving how God sees all. Nothing is hidden from Him. He knows those who are truly His followers and who will truly acknowledge Him when the time comes.
Grab a Bible if you can and turn to Luke 12:13. Watch in the following sections how much Jesus presents the URGENCY to turn to Him:
12:13-21 – The Rich Fool has ample crops and decides to build bigger barns only to discover his life would end that very night. Jesus calls him a fool for not using his wealth to be rich toward God while he had the time.
12:22-31 – Jesus says to trust God with your time & treasure. We are supposed to use the time we have to seek God first instead of being anxious about protecting ourselves later.
12:32-34 – Jesus says to trust God’s provision. Live as if time is short and know God is going to provide treasure in heaven.
12:35-48 – Jesus tells His disciples to be like the man ready for the Master’s return. We shouldn’t think it’s delayed. It could happen at any moment. We should be dressed and ready.
12:49-53 – We must decide now to follow Jesus knowing it will cause division.
12:54-59 – Our job is to discern the time and the urgency the way we would the weather. When you are on your way to court to be sentenced you don’t wait. You settle with your accuser. We must discern the time to settle and surrender to God is now before judgment.
13:1-5 – There are accidents that happen and you don’t know when your time will come. Your job is to repent now while you have the chance.
13:6-9 – The fig tree is going to be cut down if it does not bear fruit soon. God’s patience is not permanent so we must repent – Turn to God and bear the fruit of faith and repentance before it’s too late.
13:10-17 – Jesus heals a woman on the Sabbath. There was an urgency to heal her and no reason to wait for the next day.
13:18-21 – Don’t wait just because you can’t see the kingdom now. It’s coming and it’s growing.
13:22-30 – Many people will wait too long and not be able to enter the kingdom once the Master of the house gets up and shuts the door.
13:31-35 – Jesus laments over their unwillingness to repent.
One of the most common responses I get from guys when I talk to them about faith is that they will figure that out LATER. They think they have time to live it up and deal with their beliefs another time.
There is no guarantee.
If you’re reading this and haven’t fully surrendered to Christ and trusted in His death on the cross for your sins and resurrection from the dead, don’t wait! The time to respond is now!
As the writer of Hebrews says, “Today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” If you wait you could, like those Israelites, forfeit your chance to enter the promised land.
Put it into Practice:
Knowing how urgent it is to respond to Christ, I’m convicted that I don’t feel this same urgency to tell people about Christ. These 2 chapters in Luke have motivated me to be bolder!
Often times I’ll squander opportunities because I’ll think, “Oh I’ll see that person later” or “there will be a more convenient time.”
Do you ever think that?
Don’t wait. Don’t hesitate.
We don’t know when the Master is going to return. We don’t know when He’ll shut the door. We don’t know how long before His patience runs out and the tree is chopped down at its root. People are on their way to court to face their accuser and we must beg them to settle!
Who is someone you have been putting off talking to about their faith?
Pick a time to pray for them and initiate with them this week. Do it right now! Don’t wait. Eternity is at stake.
