I was driving home from a conference one weekend, with my mind whirling with many thoughts. The weekend had just been filled with time with a friend and my daughter at a spa, but also a conference for Child Evangelism. It's amazing what is happening around the province through the ministry of the 5 Day Clubs. Every summer, the message of the Gospel is being brought to thousands of children across the province through these weekly clubs. Children in small towns, in cities, in rural areas and on reserves, are being told about Jesus Christ. Hundreds of kids each summer, accept that Jesus died for their sins, believe that He rose from the grave and is now in Heaven preparing an eternal home for them. These kids know and believe that Jesus is going to come back someday, that He IS the true Messiah! Children accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ so innocently and purely. I think we have a lot to learn from them.
As I was driving, God showed me a picture of myself standing alone on the side of the road with hundreds of vehicles driving past me on the highway. I was the only one that knew that the highway ended a mile or two down the road, and that every vehicle would go over a cliff into everlasting darkness...their lives on this road would be ended. 
DID I CARE ENOUGH? Did I care enough for each soul in these vehicles to stop every single one going past me on the road to ask them if they knew Jesus. Cause if they knew Jesus, they could turn around on this road and not continue on it, that their life wouldn't have to end on this road. DID I CARE ENOUGH to stop everyone and ask if they knew Jesus. Would they believe me that the road came to a horrible end? Would they want to know who Jesus is? Would I care enough to tell them? This was a heart-stopping picture in my mind that God gave me. It didn't leave me as I continued driving home.I've been reading through this book called Radical by David Platt and a couple of weeks later, this is parts of what I read:
"Each follower of Jesus Christ is intended to take up the mantle of proclaiming the gospel to the ends of the earth, regardless of what our calling is....Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell. We owe Christ to the world--to the least to the greatest, to the rich to the poor, to the best to the worst. But somehow we have taken ourselves out from under that weight of a lost and dying world and say "I'm sorry, I'm just not called to do that." We sit back and make excuses for not sharing the gospel with the rest of the world. We want to 'assign' this obligation of being a believer to a few missionaries around the world but YET we want to claim ALL the privileges of being a believer. So we choose to send out a few missionaries to take the gospel to the ends of the earth while the rest of us just sit back because "we're not called to that." In Romans 1:14-15, Paul says he is indebted to everyone, all Jews and Gentiles, indebted to every lost person on the face of the planet, and because he is owned by Christ, he owes Christ to the world. We see all over Scripture that God has a heart for the world. Do we have God's heart? Do we just have a heart for the world around us or do we have a heart for the world globally? So if there's about 7,000,000,000 (billion) people in this world and approximately one-third of the people in the world are Christians, and if the gospel is really true (which I know it is) then about 5 billion people are separated from God in the sin and, assuming nothing changes, they will spend eternity in hell. 5 Billion People. And most of them live outside Canada and the United States. 5 BILLION PEOPLE!" Let that sink in a bit people. Do we care that 5 Billion People are on their way to hell?
Do I care? Do......I.....Care? Does that grieve my heart? Do I have the heart of God for these 5 billion people? Do I care enough to pray? Do I care enough to stop every vehicle in my vision and ask if they know Jesus? Do I care enough to support missions and do mission work myself? Do I care enough to, that any way that God shows me, take the Gospel to the ends of the earth? to the ends of MY earth? Do I have a heart for all the lost people in the world?This has really been on my heart very strongly, and it won't leave me. David Platt is not telling us in his book that we have to sell everything we have and move ourselves out to a third world country. Every Christian can't do that. But what ARE we doing to take up the mantle and share the gospel of Jesus Christ? He is the ONLY way to Heaven, the Bible tells us that.
Last week, David Wilkerson passed away when he was killed in a car accident. His life was GONE, just like that, in a split second, a snap of the finger. He has left a legacy of being a true follower of Jesus Christ, an excellent passionate minister of the Gospel, he began Teen Challenge, he wrote the book the Cross and the Switchblade, and he has many powerful sermons on youtube. He knew where he was going. This week we were told that Osama bin Laden is now dead. Do we care about his soul even though he was a very evil man and had many people killed. Do we care about the legacy that he left? If he hated Jesus Christ so much, and never turned to him, then he is now spending eternity in hell. Do we care about that? Do we rejoice over his death? A couple weeks ago in the city, I drove by a plane that had crashed right beside a main road just a few feet from a gas station. Did the people in that plane know Jesus? I came upon an accident yesterday where two vehicles were overturned in the ditch and bodies were laying in the water that was in the ditch. My heart was in agony at that site! Are they dead and did they know Jesus? That is the ultimate question people...DO YOU KNOW JESUS? DO WE CARE IF OTHERS KNOW JESUS? What fear is keeping us from asking people this question?David Wilkerson has a very powerful video on youtube called "A Call to Anguish" that I put on here in the post below. I will use that video to close these thoughts. I saw this video for the first time last week after he had died. Please watch it! David is in such anguish in this video, wow, anguish over the church and over the lost souls of this world. Do I have that anguish of Christ? DO I CARE? OH GOD, change my heart, give me a heart of anguish for people of this world, give me a heart that grieves over what grieves yours God. Change my heart oh God!
7 comments:
HI Lisa- well said. I appreciate having you share your experiences on this in one blog post as I have heard bits and pieces of the depths of your 'wail'. I hear you. If we aren't grieved for what grieves the heart of God, then we are numb, half asleep, spiritual wall flowers/ fence sitters sort of speak. One way to 'wake us up' is through prayer and fasting. It's God's desire that we have anguish for lost souls so if we are earnest in our prayers, He will grant those prayers with a YES! Keep sharing, writing, praying, loving. His love shines through you!
Dear Lisa,
As one who was moved by David Wilkerson's video at our meeting, I am with you sister!! You have a heart that is after God's heart. Thank you for sharing your anguish that urges all of us to ask "Do I Care?" and to pray "change my heart oh God". I agree with Jodi, His love shines through you sister!
oh yes, my dear//a song that has carried me through storm and heartache sings like this in part"through it all I've learned to trust in Jesus .." "sheltered in the arms of God"
Thank you Lisa for sharing what is going on in your life! Spoke HUGE to me.
Lisa, I read your writing on anguish...and on wailing. I've wailed a few times in my life - in response to my son's death, he was 22 years old. There are things that fill my heart with anguish - the plight of our foster children (and hundreds more like them), the letting go of my children and knowing that I must release them into God's hands, that I cannot secure their salvation for them or make their decisions, just love and pray for them. When I read of that accident on Warman Rd, it makes me think of what we have always done when we see an ambulance or police car with sirens on - praying for whoever needs help - but how often do I go about my little daily routines and now concern myself with the plight of so many people? And even if I am concerned, what am I doing about it? Much of my life is consumed just trying to make it through another day, because of responsibilities, because of feeling overwhelmed and without direction, feeling hopeless and depressed about circumstances, being tired.
Food for thought for me. I'm thankful God brought you to our church and look forward to reading your blog and searching for direction.
Doreen
Thank you for sharing. The video was great, it is the truth. I too feel total anguish but with that does come joy. This is what I have been dealing with, I have total anguish over our schools and churches and over our own brothers and sisters. I thank God that he has protected my heart, I am very sad over unbelievers and pray pray pray.
Lisa I find myself asking people who are sick if they know Christ, total strangers and ministering to them. Everywhere we go it is how we behave and what we do that really matters. Basically care and be led by the Holy Spirit and care only what God thinks and what his plan is for you, it is an amazing ride. The only one I want to be on but it comes with anguish and pain.
It is amazing how God is telling me slowly how to handle the situation we are in and how truly faithful and close he is. He is just amazing! Whenever I think how amazing he is I start to cry, it just overwhelms me, he is simply amazing.
Again thank you for sharing this it is the truth. Sometimes the truth hurts and in this case for all believers it hurts.
Love RS
Great challenge and something to really think about and may God give us the grace and wisdom to reach out and know how.
ES
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