Douglas Young

Bovina Bulletin Board

Are you kidding me? How much money does it cost to share the gospel with someone? It takes no money. Zero. Zilch. Not a dime. Gimmicks cost cash; conversation is free. Of course, it takes being relational to sustain a conversation with anyone. Hmmmm. Could this be part of the problem?

The 1^st Century church didn’t thrive because it had unlimited resources. Had they possessed such, the Jerusalem benevolent effort would not have reached out as far or lasted as long as it did. Paul was collecting funds for the needy of Jerusalem late into his ministry. The kingdom advanced naturally, not because there was an unending supply of monetary resources. Resources, actually, were scarce.

Churches grow because God is at work in them.  Churches came together collectively to “stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24-25). God is intimately engaged in this process. It’s a joint venture project wherein he helps us “ to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12).

In our culture, though, resources seem to be essential for churches to survive. I think resources are more integral to the edification process than to evangelism. Still, it’s functional relationships within the body that causes it to grow “with a growth that is from God” (Colossians 2:19). Resources only facilitate the relationships, giving us avenues and opportunities in particular environments. Nevertheless, resources aren’t necessarily essential for such.

At the core is how we believe growth is derived. I began this series with the premise that God is the one who gives the increase, not us (1 Corinthians 3:6). Growth cannot be forced. That we haven’t learned this yet is disturbing. That “resources” even come up goes to show that commercialism and consumerism overly affects our thinking.

You can tell whether people are serious or not by how they respond to things. James was put to death; Peter was imprisoned by Herod, but the Lord would rescue Peter (Acts 12:1-11). Peter would venture to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark. At her house many had gathered to pray (v. 12).  Peter knocks on the door and Rhoda, a servant girl, responds to the rapt at the door. She recognizes Peter’s voice and in elation runs to tell the others that Peter was back. She was so excited that she didn’t even let him in. She left him standing there outside the gate!

The group that was gathered didn’t believe Rhoda. They responded with, “You are out of your mind…It is his angel!” (v. 15), but “Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed” (v. 16).

Sometimes the news is so good that you can’t but go run and tell others. Poor Peter was left standing outside as Rhoda sought to convince the group of what was so. I think Rhoda’s excitement about Peter’s arrival said a lot about her that is good.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a similar joy and quickness to share the good news of Jesus with others?

The other day Tisha told me that a certain passage was really bothering her. Specifically, it was Matthew 7:20, “Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.” Most of us know it well. It’s a statement that makes all the sense in the world, but it doesn’t necessarily sit well with a person when thought about introspectively. That was Tisha’s point. Her concern was about what, to her was a lack of fruit, might say about herself. Of course, I had been thinking the same thing about myself. What was my lack of fruit saying about me?

What kind of fruit was Jesus getting at? Was it about bringing souls to Christ or could it be about something else? Could this be a foreshadowing reference to how the fruit of the Spirit is the defining element to a person’s Christian character? 

I sense that both can be in view. Seeds of evangelism do not always grow. This we learn from the parable of the sower, as well as from the very ministry of Jesus. His message didn’t affect change in everyone with whom he spoke, but he touched the lives of many nevertheless. He made a difference. He wasn’t fruitless, but why was that?

One of my concerns is that we so rest on the fact that we are merely seed planters and waterers, trusting that God will give the growth(1 Cor. 3:6), but when that growth doesn’t necessarily develop, we simply say, “Well it wasn’t meant to be!” That’s convenient, but what if we’ve been the problem all along? What if it was the way we went about it that produced the end result? Or even worse, what if on the outside everything seemed proper, but that it was nothing more than a facade that God saw through, and because of our disingenuousness our efforts fell on infertile soil?

Could it be that evangelism without the fruit of the Spirit in us is futile?