Mission: Salvation and the Kingdom of God
“But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about
the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized,
both men and women.” (Acts 8:12)
You are warmly welcome!
I hate being redundant; this means boredom and time just doesn’t seem to move; it is almost sickening – and so it is for many. We all were created to be engaged in some activity. A jobless graduate who has not found a way of being engaged somehow will certainly have a sad tale to tell; many are even willing to do voluntary work (this is good), just for the sake of having something to work at. Our Creator made us in His own image, and just as He is always at work, and so must we. Now let me draw your attention to the noblest of vocations:
I call upon all of us to focus on God’s Mission: God has work for you, and this week is dedicated to reinvigorating our awareness of this fact, as we reach out to the University and surrounding areas with the gospel.
The Message of Salvation: Are you concerned about many people around us who need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ in order to put their faith in him and be saved? Some of these are your friends or even relatives. There is need for witnessing and calling them to salvation. Others have been born again before and they fell; they still come to Church but their love grew cold and they need to be assisted, held by the hand and brought back to Salvation: you can help – even if it is talking to only one person. Philip’s evangelism that culminated in baptisms is testimony to the fact that many were drawn to Jesus.
The Message of the Kingdom of God: Are you concerned about the 1200 students whose names were missing on graduation lists recently? Are you concerned about students who diligently study and do exams but their marks are missing? Are you concerned about the high sexual promiscuity that characterises young people in universities – acts of pre-marital sex, heart breaks, abortions? Are you concerned about the quality of graduates we are chunning out, who have little creativity? The gospel of the Kingdom of God is what we need. These evils do not at all characterize the kingdom of God; what then do we mean when we pray ‘… Your kingdom come’?
When Jesus said, “Peace! Be still!”, He spoke to the sea for the sake of the people not only in that boat but also all others who were sailing at that time. The world around us is hungry for kingdom values. You can be an agent of transformation wherever you are stationed, in the name of Jesus Christ. If He is interested in a calm sea, then He is also interested in effectively functional institutions, academic systems, business enterprises, families – all for the sake of his people.
Salvation, saved – 25 times; kingdom of God – 53 times in Gospels.
The assignment
God bless you!