Word Of Mouth Society

I was blessed by such a great sermon on Sunday and it really left me thinking. The sermon was about Paul’s mission for saving the lost and bringing them into the church body. The speaker used Colossians 1:24-28 as his key verses.  

^"24 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. ²⁵ I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— ²⁶ the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. ²⁷ To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

²⁸ He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. ²⁹ To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me."

            The main thought that was left running through my head after the sermon was Paul’s passion and his constancy in talking about Christ.  The end of this verse is so powerful “To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.” He had a constant urgency in spreading the gospel of Christ. This urgency, I am lacking in my life. I talk about Jesus and what He is doing in my life, but not with the passion and mission of Paul. 

            I recently got started in a great home business! I love it and I want to tell everyone about it and how it has worked for my family. The fact is people by nature talk about what they like and what works for them. We recommend movies, music, restaurants on a daily basis. We are “work of mouth” oriented.  When we find something new, we can’t wait to pass on the helpful information to our friends and family. Yet we don’t constantly talk about Jesus talking on our sins and saving the world! For me, talking about Jesus comes naturally because he is my life and everything that has happened in my life has come from Him. However, I am not “proclaiming, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom”.  How many of my non-believing friends have I talked to about Christ recently? Honestly, it has been a while. 

            The Apostle Paul is such an encouragement to me to keep that urgency with wisdom in share the gospel. Salvation is such a big issue yet is hardly discussed in our society. Just imagine if each person that professes Christ - strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in them to proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. What would the world look like?