Life Loving Jesus

2 Timothy 4: 1-5

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (NKJV)

VOICE: And now I bring you this charge before God and Jesus the Anointed, the one destined to judge the living and the dead, at His glorious appearance and His kingdom: go out and preach the word! Go whether it’s an opportune time or not! Reprove, warn, and encourage; but do so with all the patience and instruction needed to fulfill your calling because a time will come when some will no longer tolerate sound teaching. Instead, they will live by their own desires; they’ll scratch their itching ears by surrounding themselves with teachers who approve of their lifestyles and tell them what they want to hear. They will turn away from the real truth you have to offer because they prefer the sound of fables and myths. But you must stay focused and be alert at all times. Tolerate suffering. Accomplish the good work of an evangelist, and complete the ministry to which you have been called.

We are not saved just to be used by God, but also to be His sons and daughters. He does not turn us into spiritual agents but into spiritual messengers, and the message must be a part of us. The Son of God was His own message —

John 6:63

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (NKJV)

As His disciples, our lives must be examples of the reality of the message we share. Almost anyone will serve if asked, but it takes someone who’s heart has been broken by conviction of sin, baptized by the Holy Spirit, and molded into the will of God to make a person’s life a holy example of God’s message.

Broken by Conviction of Sin

The conviction of sin is the recognition that the the fulfillment of this world isn’t lasting. Its the Holy Spirit that convicts us, that leads us to the awareness that the things of God are life and light and love.

Baptized by the Holy Spirit

Acts 4:31

“And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” (NKJV) 

Being baptized with the Spirit means God starts to cultivate boldness in us. Confidence to share that whatever experience we are having with Him is powerful, worth sharing with anyone who will listen.

John 3:5

“Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (ESV)

We must be baptized with the Holy Spirit to experience the kingdom of God which is now — Jesus preached that the kingdom of God is at hand, that we can live in the Kingdom here and now —

Mark 1:15

“and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (NKJV) 

Baptism in the Holy Spirit is immersing ourselves in the things of God. When we turn our hearts towards God in every circumstance, we are living in the kingdom. The Spirit is like a cleansing wave; when we emerge from the depths of baptism, we leave behind the limitations we placed on God. We allow God to be infinite, without border, without expectation. We leave behind the preconceived ideas about who we are and open ourselves to the possibilities of who God sees us to be.

Molded into the Will of God

Living a life of evangelism doesn’t necessarily mean we all become preachers and ministers. God takes us beyond our own ideas of success and he shapes us for His purpose. He molds us into the living embodiment of His message. The way we live, the words we speak, the actions we take — when we allow God the freedom to do with us as He wants to, everything we are is Him. Our life is evangelism.