Your mission: to know Christ and make Christ known

Warning: this blog post is not about you!

It is about Christ. I know this maybe confusing, afterall the title of the post starts with the word “your”. The reason I start with a warning is because too many people, Christians included, approach their reading of this article asking the wrong question. Usually, they ask “what can I get from this article”. Depending on which category of people you belong to the effects of asking the wrong question vary from person to person. I would like to point out some of the results of a Christian who asks the wrong question in life and how it affects their view of small group fellowships in a local church. I’ll briefly speak of the results in non-Christians at the end.

Different local churches have different names for their small group fellowships. I have heard some call them growth groups, homecells, gospel communities, bible study groups, home fellowships etc. No matter the name, the goal is usually the same, they are created to allow for opportunities of fellowship outside a worship service. In the second chapter of the book of Acts, it records that after the Apostle Peter had shared the gospel to a large gathering of people from different “nations under heaven” many “received his word” and showed that they became Christians and were baptised. We are told that these people whose lives had been changed when they came to know Jesus dedicated their lives to what the Apostles taught concerning Jesus, breaking bread, and prayers. The Apostle Paul summarises well the change that took place in the hearts of these people when, in 2 Corinthians 5:14, he speaks of how the love of Christ controls Christians. Verse 15 makes it even clearer when Paul says how our lives as Christians are characterised by us no longer living for ourselves but rather for Jesus who for our sake, died and was raised. The Christian must live no longer for themselves but must rather live for Christ. For the Christian there is a fundamental shift in the mindset: they move from being concerned primarily about themselves to now being predominantly motivated to live for Christ.

What does this change in their life have to do with small fellowship groups, well everything. In the story of the early Church in chapter 2 of the book of Acts, we are told how those who became Christians would meet in the temple and in their homes for times of fellowships. This passage not only helps us see biblical basis for small group fellowships, but it also gives us a glimpse of the kind of fellowship that God blessed since verse 47 speaks of how it pleased the Lord to save more and more people thereby adding to the number of believers in that place. Four characteristics of the hearts of the believers in these early small group fellowships of the early Church are revealed that we should strive for: they had all things in common, they intentionally sought to provide the needs amongst them, they received what they got with God honouring attitudes and they prioritised fellowship.

Acts 2:41 tells us that after Peter’s sermon a total of three thousand people became believers. The recently converted Christians consisted pf people from different parts of the world and different parts of society: with some having more material possessions than others. When a need arose amongst this group of believers, we are told that some sold their belongings so that these needs would be catered for. In some small groups that I have been a part of, even though it is common knowledge that some members would not have cars like others would, there are those who own cars who would not want to break a sweat transporting those in need of a ride home.

The believers in Acts did not only see the needs of others and simply promise to pray for them but took action to meet those needs. The believers sold their belongings so that whatever need was present would be met with what was raised from the sell. Obviously, this does not mean that we must foolishly sell all we have to meet the needs of those who do not have in our small groups however we must actively and intentionally seek to cater for the needs of other believers who are a part of our small group fellowships. We show our love for the Lord when we seek to meet the needs of fellow believers amongst us just as 1 John 3:17 and 18 says.

It is interesting to note that there were different classes of people in these early small groups. There were some who had houses and lands who sold them to help in meeting the needs of the growing Christian community. Verse 46 of Acts chapter 2 tells us that these saints received what they got with glad and generous hearts. How many times have there been people within the small group that seem to have a sense of entitlement to what they receive, almost as if those who have more than them materially are obliged to give towards their need. A glad and generous heart acknowledges that those with more do so out of obedience to Christ and that even though I may not be able to give as much as others I always have something that I can give even if it is just my gratitude of God’s grace in other people’s lives.

Acts 2 also points out these early Christians saw the importance of regular fellowship when they met day by day in the temple and in their homes. Our lives will never have a short supply of activities we can participate in. There are others who would choose to watch tv than fellowship with other whilst some may do things that are beneficial to their well being in life. The main point is that regular fellowship is of greater importance than any other activity in the life of a believer. There are obviously some seasons of the life of a Christian where it may become exceedingly difficult to have regular fellowship with other believers but in such times, it is up to the person experiencing this season to see the time as the exception and not the norm. Every Christian has been saved into a family of believers. I have seen many people fall away from the faith because they did not prioritise consistent times of fellowship.

As a leader I have not always shown these four characteristics of a small group member nor have I led people to strive to for such a character, but it has become apparent to me that if I really believe that I have been saved to glorify God then my mission is supposed to be that I know Christ more and more and make Him known more and more.

For the non-believer, the result of not asking the right question is split into two: in the short term your life is lived selfishly with you constantly thinking of yourself. The long-term result is that if you remain unrepentant, not asking the right question by living for yourself, God will one day punish you forever in hell. However, God through His Son, Jesus, has made a way for not only that our eternity would be changed but that we would also live right now asking the right question which everyone must ask: how can I know Christ and make Christ known.  

Consider Jesus

Christmas, there is a lot of hype during this time. For some there is a lot of travelling, for others a lot of cooking and eating and yet for others celebrating. Naturally, as all this is happening there is a lot money that is spent. Whilst all these things have their place, there is no better time than Christmas season to stop and consider. I’d like for us to take some time and consider Jesus!

You Sir, who has worked tirelessly throughout the year to make sure that your family is well fed and clothed. The one who put in long hours to make sure that you provide all things that you believe your family wanted. Sir consider Jesus who, though He was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but made himself nothing. Indeed, Sir your sacrifice is great but Jesus’ is much greater.

How many times did you, Madam, cook, clean and serve those young and old nagging voices day after day only to have those very same voices at the end of the day tell you how unhappy and even condemn you for your lack of effort in your service to them. To them, you just didn’t do enough to reach their standard. Madam would you also consider Jesus, the true light which enlightens everyone who came to His own and His own people did not receive Him.

In a broken and fallen world filled with so many dangers, how easy it is for young men to go with the flow. It’s a world that declares bad to be good and good to be bad. Any young man who dares speak of truth is seemingly silenced as soon as the thought of speaking enters to mind. Undoubtedly there’s so much pressure but young man consider Jesus, who endured from sinners such hostility against himself so that you may not grow weary or faint heartened.

In these troubled times, have you truly considered Jesus? It’s hard to be certain of tomorrow if you trust in what your job will provide or the affirmation that others bring.  The same world that seemingly promotes value of life is oblivious of true life in its values. Is this same world whose word you’ll trust concerning your life? This Christmas, instead of being so self-consumed and thinking a lot me, myself and I we should consider what is of most importance. It is only in us acknowledging our sinfulness and God’s holiness that we begin to think on what is of greatest significance in this life. Sinners like you and me must truly consider Jesus, the Son of God, the gloriously great Savior who was born so that we might be born again to a living hope.

 

The sad denial of God in churches today

It’s really sad when social media is abuzz with a video or pictures of a person claiming to do something really foolish like healing someone by kissing them or jumping on people in the name of the God of the Bible. It’s even more sad when people who are supposed to know better follow such. As sad as all this may be its definitely not surprising at least it shouldn’t be.

The reason we shouldn’t be amazed by it is because God, through the Bible, has warned us that such people will come up. 2 Timothy3:1-5:

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.  For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,  having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. (Emphasis added)

How many times have heard or seen a supposed man of God promise “heaven on earth”. They prey on people’s greed and anxiety concerning things in the here and now and at the same time falsely assure people of eternal pleasures with God to come. These fake preachers speak of a god who can supposedly turn snakes into chocolate and can cause you to enter your destiny where there is an abundance of health and wealth. However the god they preach of cannot change people’s hearts and give eternal hope to his children. This is evident in how many of their congregants are living in greed, constantly coveting and worrying about “making it big in life.” Many, like their leaders, will talk about God but deny His power. They seek “blessings” for their lives or maybe even for others and yet they out-rightly minimize the greatest blessing of all and that is the miracle that God does in a person’s heart so that they can be able to hear and understand God’s word and obey it.

Oh that many would come to know the real God of the Bible! The One who works with great power in a heart that was once rebellious to Him and flooded with worry after worry to a heart that first and foremost is at peace with the God of the universe and one that continuously finds hope because of what has been done by Jesus Christ at the cross. Which category of people do you belong to: the godless that are described above or the one who has truly encountered the God of the Bible?

 

The Christian and their clothes

A theology that is not lived out and applied in everyday life is a wasted theology.God commands us to glorify Him in everything, even in the seemingly of smallest of issues in life: what we eat and what we drink (1 Corinth 10:31). It is important that as we are studying His word, our way of thinking and reasoning should be informed by what we learn from the Bible. Our worldview should be formed by what the Bible teaches and not by our parents, our friends and certainly not us.

Worldview simply means your most basic belief in anything.One thing that seems to shout out our worldview is the way in which we dress. Our clothes definitely send out a message to the observing world whether we like it or not and certainly whether we mean it or not. What can we learn about clothes from the Bible you might ask? I think John Piper, in his book”This Momentary Marriage,” gives a great response to this question. Speaking of Adam and Eve  after the Fall as read in Genesis 3:7, Piper writes:

“If they were naked and shame free before the Fall, and if they put on clothes to minimize their shame after the Fall, then what is God doing by clothing them even better than they can clothe themselves? …Negatively, he is saying: You are not what you were, and you are not what you ought to be. The chasm between what you are and what you ought to be is huge.”

Sin really messed things up. Sin brought about shame to Adam and Eve and so to cover their shame they tried to cover themselves up however even their attempt to cover themselves was a focus on self and not on God. John Piper goes to add how God supports Adam and Eve’s covering of themselves as a right response to how they were not what they ought to be. God’s approval in His gift of clothes to them is so that instead of concealing their shame of sin with clothing they would confess it. What then is the significance of clothing? It is a witness to the glory we lost and a confession that we are not what we should be, but it is also testimony that God Himself would one day make us what we should be. God showed mercy to Adam and Eve by disallowing the clothing that they had made and provided them with superior clothing.

As Christians we should therefore be intentional in how we dress. We should not hold to the same standard of the world in our dressing. This means that our dressing shouldn’t be to promote nudity by seeking attention to our exposed body parts. It also means that clothes shouldn’t be used as a means of power and prestige and for you to get the spotlight. Clothes, as Piper puts it, “are meant to direct attention to what is not under them: merciful hands that serve others in the name of Christ, beautiful feet that carry the gospel where it is needed, and the brightness of a face that has beheld the glory of Jesus.”

The “perfect” doctor: modern day pastors and the flock who idolize them

Would you trust a doctor who kept giving you medication that didn’t help at all with your illness. A doctor who each time his medicine didn’t work would tell you that the reason you weren’t getting better is because you didn’t have enough belief in his ability to heal. It would be strange if you didn’t , at least at one point, question this guy’s credentials. Maybe even seek a second opinion from another doctor who you thought was just as or perhaps more qualified than this doctor you’ve unsuccessfully sought help from. No one in their right mind would be willing to risk their health by repeatedly going to this man who obviously  doesn’t seem to know how to effectively be a doctor. If people are not willing to risk their physical health by entrusting themselves to a dubious doctor, why then are they so relaxed when it comes to who they entrust with their spiritual well being?

10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so– Acts 17:10 & 11.

Here is an example in the Bible of the brethren in Berea who would take what recognized leaders like Paul and Silas  would preach and test what they said with what the infallible/perfect Bible says concerning what ever was presented. Do you do the same?  Do you take time to go back to the Scriptures to actually check if what has been preached is in accordance with sound teaching. Have you ever tested to see if what you were taught agrees with the whole counsel of Scripture or if it is something that the preacher just made up in the heat of the moment? As ridiculous as this sounds, it actually does happen.

Recently I was watching a video clip of a funeral of a prominent pastor in the US. It was really a big event. This pastor was was praised for a great deal of “good” things that he did whilst he was alive. An article that I read on CNN seemed to confirm these things. What seemed really odd to me was how the people who gave eulogies for this man seemed to conveniently forget about the long list of accusations that this man had when he was alive. According to the Bible (1 Timothy 3:1-7) some of the requirements of a person who is a pastor is that they should be above reproach and not a lover of money. There were many scandals in this man’s life and according to public knowledge this guy clearly loved to live a flashy lifestyle and yet the leadership of the church and the congregants still allowed him to continue holding his pastoral position. This is clearly in contradiction to the requirements set forth in the Bible. I’m not sure if church discipline was even carried out when these allegations against this pastor were brought forward. What seems to be clear to me is how people within this church were willing to continue having a leader who was clearly disqualified from the office that he held. The leadership and members of this local church were willing to disregard what God said in His word about this pastor’s situation. The unfortunate truth is that this is one out of many local churches ,not only in the US but all around the world, that have elevated their leader to a god like status. The man of God does or says no wrong, if you think he does, you’re the problem not him.

In Africa many men of the cloth are not questioned when what they preach goes against reason and more importantly goes against what the revealed will of God in the Bible says.

Pastor says: “You will receive a blessing in the next 21 days when you place your faith in what I the servant of God says,” the church member sheepishly replies”yes Papa, I receive” as though they are commanded, in the Bible, to obey, without question, every word that comes out of the Pastor’s mouth.

This kind of attitude has led to church members agreeing to drink petrol, eat snakes that apparently taste like chocolate, be jumped on for the sake of revealing God’s power, use handkerchiefs to wipe cars that they want to claim as theirs, be told of ridiculous messages from God all in the name of God’s word. A faithful look at Scripture would help a believer to see how all this, and much more, is rubbish. Stuff that the so called man of God has made up. Why do people not pick this up? One of the reasons is because many people who blindly follow these pastors are not believers to begin with and those that are have reduced the Bible to a good book that should be carried to church on Sunday but never studied on any time after. Many are satisfied with using the Bible to support what the pastor is doing instead of using to test what is being preached at the pulpit. Instead of showing people how to effectively deal with sin in their lives many so called men and women of God have used the Bible to support their clearly sinful lifestyles and in many cases even promote them. So called pastors, when apparently prophesying, have lied countless times and gone on to give some silly excuse for their lie. What doesn’t make sense is how people would still look to them as prophets, apostles, pastors and teachers even though what they prophesied didn’t come true and more importantly what they teach has not has not in any way helped the members of the church to grow in holiness as they fight sin. Men and women who apparently serve God continuously lie and claim to serve the God of truth.

It is high time believers in Christ held the Bible in high regard as men and women of old did and as many do even today. It’s time that the Bible be taken as the infallible word of God that should be our final authority and our number one means by which we correctly interpret and respond to life’s issues in the world we live. For those who choose to continue disregarding God’s word let them know that they’re no better than that foolish patient who goes to the same dubious doctor for a cure for their disease time after time and expects that they will be cured from their life threatening disease. Such an attitude will surely lead to death.

 

Is Christ enough for you?

It’s that time of the year when many people are lining up meeting after meeting in their schedule for the new year so that they can get into the year with the right atmosphere. The kind of atmosphere that will bring about new blessings. The way most people in the world usually look at a new year is what they can do different to get the best “whatever” in their lives. I guess many professing Christians have just altered this thought and added a bit of a biblical touch to come up with something Christian friendly. Something that sounds like this: “I’m really trusting God for greater blessings in the year ahead,” or “this coming year is the year in which nothing will hold me back from my blessing.”  Sound familiar? I’m sure it does.However is such a way of thinking truly biblical? What does it mean to be blessed as a believer? If God is truly central in our lives and if we’re really serious about doing what pleases Him, we want to make sure that we’re agreeing with Him on what He calls blessing.

One author had this to say about what it means to be blessed:

“What is  blessing, then? Scripture shows that blessing is anything God gives that makes us fully satisfied in him. Anything that draws us closer to Jesus. Anything that helps us relinquish the temporal and hold on more tightly to the eternal. And often it is the struggles and trials, the aching disappointments and the unfulfilled longings that best enable us to do that.”

I know most people would look at that definition and either be confused by it or just out-rightly disagree with it. A good starting point and  our standard for checking  if the statement above is true or not is the Bible. In the book of Ephesians we see how God, out of his sovereignty, saves people who do not merit salvation in anyway whatsoever. Ephesians 1:3 speaks of how all those who are faithful in Christ are assured of every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.  It’s clear throughout the book  what the Apostle Paul doesn’t mean by blessings. When he expands on what are the blessings he refers to in verse 3 of chapter 1, he doesn’t mention material blessings instead  some of the blessings he mentions are the blessing of God’s sovereign grace over undeserving sinners, the redemption we have in Christ and the seal of the Holy Spirit for all believers. In the same verse Paul praises God for the blessings that are already ours in Christ. Are our hearts like Paul? Do our hearts overflow with praise for the blessings we already have? Many who profess Christ as Lord of their life, during this early part of the year, spend much time in prayer pleading with or in some cases even demanding the Lord to bless them. Bless them with what you might ask? A new job, new car, new house, new business idea, better health, happier home, greater legacy etc. Do you ever ask God for more situations that will help you trust in Him more? Have you ever asked that He may teach you contentment in whatever season He calls you to even if that season is one of  extreme lack and unfulfilled dreams? I’m sure the answer for most is no.

Here’s a quote by Tim Keller to help us further consider this issue of blessing more specifically touching on the role of suffering in our lives as Christians:

“Christianity teaches that, contra fatalism, suffering is overwhelming; contra Buddhism, suffering is real; contra karma, suffering is often unfair; but contra secularism, suffering is meaningful. There is a purpose to it, and if faced rightly, it can drive us like a nail deep into the love of God and into more stability and spiritual power than you can imagine.”

As people, we want to be comfortable and secure. Usually anything that messes up with this status is considered an enemy. Sadly most people would prefer the temporal pleasures of this earth over the eternal pleasures that God promises. Please understand, it’s not wrong to be asking the Lord for a new car, house , job or whatever other material thing you can think of. The key thing is realizing, accepting and being content with the truth that God is God, He uses every and any situation to display His glory and make our joy complete in Him,  whether one has a high bank balance or a low one, fulfilled or crushed dreams or in extreme suffering. In fact, He tells us, in the Bible that His preferred choice is usually suffering. One of the ways we can be checking to see if Christ really has the place that He deserves, number one in our hearts, is to ask this question: if all was to be taken away: the car be smashed, the house be robbed or destroyed, the good health be lost of the bad health get worse, the job be taken away, dreams lost, if all this and/or more was to happen would we still be satisfied in Christ alone?

SDG

Timeless truths in song

Certain songs leave you with a sense of awe when you listen to them and the feeling is especially greater when you go on to sing them. The Lord in His great and gracious providence has given us songs to help us in worshiping Him. Since we’re celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus, I thought to share this wonderful song I learnt recently called Mary Did You Know:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifCWN5pJGIE

Please see lyrics of song below:

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will calm the storm with His hand?

Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?

Mary did you know.. Mary did you know

The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?

Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you’re holding is the Great, I Am.

Do I really deserve this from God?

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us- Romans 5:7-8

Throughout history we have had revolutions that have taken place, from Zimbabwe to China, form France to USA. It would seem like no country has been left untouched by this powerful wave that has swept in change in each country. In all of these countries there are people that have commanded respect. For example in the USA there was Martin Luther King Junior who commanded great respect from others. An example in South Africa is Nelson Mandela, an example in India is Mahatma Gandhi, an example in Britain is William Wilberforce and an example in Cuba is Che Guevara.

All these men earned great admiration from the people they led so much so that some people were willing to die for them.

The Apostle Paul emphasizes how this is something that can happen but he also stresses how it is something that is rare. It scarcely happens that someone would be willing to die for another who has not earned that status. Nobody would want to die for someone that they think deserves death.

But God! It is at this point that one ought to stop and realize that things have changed. There is no good person and there is no more righteous person anymore. There is no person who has earned respect. The kind of man that the Apostle is speaking of is the sinner. Paul is now referring to the sinner who deserves eternal punishment for going against the standard of God.

What does God do to this sinner? He dies for this sinner. So instead of punishing the sinner He instead dies in the place of the sinner and carries the punishment upon Himself.

What motivates Him to act this way? It is His love. God gives the sinner what they do not deserve because of His love. So the sinner didn’t need to do anything to earn God’s love but God gave it anyway. Man this is really great love!

Just imagine the sinner deserved to be punished but God does not punish them. God instead forgives the sinner and the sinner’s relationship with Him is restored as if the sinner never sinned. That is really really great love!

Now does this apply to every person that will ever live? No it doesn’t apply to everyone. Not every single person has their sins forgiven and their relationship with God restored. It is only those who have accepted that they are a sinner and that they cannot achieve God’s holy standard by themselves and that it is only through the death and resurrection of God’s son, Jesus, that their sins are forgiven and their relationship with God is restored. If one believes this and shows their belief by living a life of obedience to God then they are counted amongst the people Paul speaks of: those who Christ died for.

If ever one doubts God’s goodness then they only need to look at the cross and remember that Jesus died for them whilst they were still sinners: when they did not deserve it.

And if ever you as a believer, those whom Christ died for, think that you are not getting what you deserve,  and if you feel that you obey everything God asks of you but you still don’t get things you think you deserve like a job, food, clothing, money and other things like that, then remember that God even now at this very moment is giving and will always give you much more than you deserve.

Even as believers, we get much more than we deserve from God. As believers we still sin but because of what His son has done for us God is still good to us. He doesn’t treat us according to what we have done this is because how God treats us is not because of what have done but according to what Christ Jesus has done. It is only because of what Jesus has done that we are able to receive forgiveness of sins and are restored in right relationship with God. We didn’t earn our way to getting saved and so we also cannot earn our way to staying saved: both are by God’s grace. We are saved by grace and stay saved by grace.

Let us think more deeply about this for a moment. God made it possible, through what was done by His Son Jesus, for something as big as our relationship with Him to be restored. How much more will He make it possible for us to get other things like a job, good results in school, food, money, a suitable spouse and any other things we need? We didn’t deserve salvation but He gave it to us because what Jesus has done. What will make us now think that we need to do something to earn any blessing from Him? There is absolutely nothing we can ever do to earn anything from God!

If, you are a believer, God has joyfully forgiven you for all sins. Those from the past, those in the present and all those you will ever commit. Again let me stress that all this is possible because of what Jesus has done for you and not because of what you have done for you. So even as you go to God in prayer, go in the confidence of what God has done and not what you have done.

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?  Romans 8:32

Are you really sure!

Another day has come,
Another day called today,
A day who for some,
Will pass away as yesterday

If only you knew about your tomorrow,
If your eyes were open to see that its nearly dark,
Just a glimpse to see times of sorrow,
Then perhaps you’d work, work your all to make your mark

Shall I wait for a frown,
So I can treasure a smile,
Should I be down,
For you to walk with me a mile

Are you really sure,
Sure that tomorrow will come,
Today could be your last,
Indeed it was for some
SDG

 

Looking out for the wind

The wind is a very great force of nature. A look at its effects in the form of tornadoes, hurricanes or monsoons can give one a very clear picture of just how strong this element of nature can get. One of the things that make wind so dangerous is how difficult it is to predict.
Amongst the different elements of the weather, wind is probably one of the most unpredictable. One minute things can be calm and in the next minute be very chaotic when the power of the wind falls on a place. It is very hard to see when wind is coming but when it does finally arrive it is unmistakably conspicuous in its presence. In other words you’ll know when it has arrived.
The Lord Jesus when speaking to Nicodemus of the work of the Spirit in salvation likened His work to that of the wind. One cannot tell where the wind is coming from or where it is going but can see and hear its effects (John 3:8). It is really humbling when one considers that in the process of evangelizing to someone that they have no direct control over whether the person to whom they’re sharing to will be saved. Yet God in His word commands that we faithfully share the gospel. We’re to trust that God will work in whom He chooses to work in as we share the good news.
Just in the same way that it would be pointless to try and always anticipate the wind so it would also be futile to get worried over who would get saved from the people whom you would have shared the gospel with. It is not up to you; God in His sovereignty chooses whom He wants to work. Your duty: continue to faithfully share the gospel with every single bit of clarity and trust in the work of the Spirit in that person’s life.
One of the ways you can stop anticipating the work of the Spirit is by making the most of every opportunity that is afforded to you by the Lord. When a chance comes to share the gospel, grab it and do your best to share the good news as if that person was the last person that you would ever share to.
Another chance of applying this truth is in your own life as a believer. Sometimes as believers we are guilty of wanting to figure out how God is working out things in our lives. Whenever we can’t make out what’s happening we tend to feel like our world has fallen apart. It is in such times that we have to learn to trustingly wait upon the Lord. The omniscient God knows what He’s doing in your life. If there’s anyone who knows what He’s doing it is our God.
We should trust Him to work in our lives and we should also trust Him to work in the hearts of other believers around us. One of the traits wants His children to have is patience. So when it seems like other believers keep on making the same mistakes keep trusting that God will in His place and at His pace work in them just as He is working in you. In this process of applying patience you would do well to not anticipate when those other believers will change. If you do then you would be looking for the wind; a vain exercise.
Trust the Lord and patiently wait on Him: He will work in His place and at His pace.