shot taken by Traver Mudzonga
Every man in public life, every speaker who takes to the rostrum, every preacher who mounts the pulpit has certain reticences.
The modern preacher hesitates to inject personalities into his preaching. He is reticent about using illustrations out of his own experiences or that of his congregation.
But the apostolic preachers and writers observed no such restraints. Their sermons were full of their own experiences.
“ What we have seen and heard, declare we unto you ”, they said. They never tired of telling what the Lord had done for them…..
In simple telling, there was power –sheer power.
This power that made them different, they said, was available to anyone who would believe.
Sins could be forgiven; Christ could come into human life to change natures and dispositions….
To change moods and tempers….
To banish fear and worries…
To remove shame and guilt….
To provide a new dynamic, a new purpose in life….
A new joy and a peace that nothing could destroy.
It was exciting news.
People listened to it.
They did not always agree with the apostles, sometimes there were riots and bloodshed.
We modern Christians are remarkably frank about some things and strangely reticent about others. The trouble is that we are frank about the things that were better left unsaid and silent about the things worth discussing and sharing.
We do not seem to have any great faith these days –in God and His Power. We seem to have little faith in the availability of the Holy Spirit – The Helper – in our daily lives. We have no great convictions
No great passions
No great causes.
Lately I have had a feeling of compulsion to tell a bit of my own story and the convictions growing out of it. I do not know why it was laid on my heart and I do not need to know. For did not Christ say, “Go home and tell thy friends what greast things the Lord has done for thee”?
When a person can say, “I know Whom I have believed”….when he can say: “I know that prayer changes things”, he has done more to instill faith in other hearts than all the arguments since the world began.
What do I know out of the crucible of my own experience?
I know that Christ is alive, and personal, and real and closer than we think.
I have met Him.
I
have felt His presence.
I have seen the changes He can make in me…..in lifting a mood, in taking away despair, or frustrations, in melting my pride, in getting me to do the right thing when I preferred to do the wrong thing.
I know that I am a Christian
Now upon this point, there need be, and indeed can be no doubt or hesitation.
One either is a Christian or not.
One either is a believer or not.
There is no middle ground or compromise or indecision.
When someone asks you if you are married, there is no doubt or uncertainty.
You either are or you are not.
You are in no doubt concerning your citizenship.
So, it is not humility or piety to say that you are “trying to be a christian”……You either are or not.
The modern preacher hesitates to inject personalities into his preaching. He is reticent about using illustrations out of his own experiences or that of his congregation.
But the apostolic preachers and writers observed no such restraints. Their sermons were full of their own experiences.
“ What we have seen and heard, declare we unto you ”, they said. They never tired of telling what the Lord had done for them…..
In simple telling, there was power –sheer power.
This power that made them different, they said, was available to anyone who would believe.
Sins could be forgiven; Christ could come into human life to change natures and dispositions….
To change moods and tempers….
To banish fear and worries…
To remove shame and guilt….
To provide a new dynamic, a new purpose in life….
A new joy and a peace that nothing could destroy.
It was exciting news.
People listened to it.
They did not always agree with the apostles, sometimes there were riots and bloodshed.
We modern Christians are remarkably frank about some things and strangely reticent about others. The trouble is that we are frank about the things that were better left unsaid and silent about the things worth discussing and sharing.
We do not seem to have any great faith these days –in God and His Power. We seem to have little faith in the availability of the Holy Spirit – The Helper – in our daily lives. We have no great convictions
No great passions
No great causes.
Lately I have had a feeling of compulsion to tell a bit of my own story and the convictions growing out of it. I do not know why it was laid on my heart and I do not need to know. For did not Christ say, “Go home and tell thy friends what greast things the Lord has done for thee”?
When a person can say, “I know Whom I have believed”….when he can say: “I know that prayer changes things”, he has done more to instill faith in other hearts than all the arguments since the world began.
What do I know out of the crucible of my own experience?
I know that Christ is alive, and personal, and real and closer than we think.
I have met Him.
I
have felt His presence.
I have seen the changes He can make in me…..in lifting a mood, in taking away despair, or frustrations, in melting my pride, in getting me to do the right thing when I preferred to do the wrong thing.
I know that I am a Christian
Now upon this point, there need be, and indeed can be no doubt or hesitation.
One either is a Christian or not.
One either is a believer or not.
There is no middle ground or compromise or indecision.
When someone asks you if you are married, there is no doubt or uncertainty.
You either are or you are not.
You are in no doubt concerning your citizenship.
So, it is not humility or piety to say that you are “trying to be a christian”……You either are or not.
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