Do Nothing Until... + News

According to Jesus, His followers shouldn’t share their faith until something very specific happens to them + Weekly News

DO NOTHING UNTIL…

In these Last Days, the primary responsibility for Christians is to bring as many people as possible from darkness to light and into the kingdom of Christ. But a single familiar but misunderstood verse sheds some intense lights on what must first take place.

The Crucial Verse

In Mark 9:9 Peter, James and John were coming down the mountain with Jesus after He had been transfigured. He told the three men to tell no one what they had seen until Jesus, as the Son of Man, had risen from the dead. The disciples didn’t understand why their Master would make such a statement, and neither do most of us. I didn’t until recently. Many of us are familiar with the verse and the scene, but we probably have missed its direct application to us as we share the gospel and take seriously our calling to make disciples.

Christ’s Resurrected Life

I believe Jesus’ message to us was that we should say nothing until we had come to the end of ourselves to such a degree that the resurrected life of Christ had become our life. This is why I am constantly stressing the need to walk in the Spirit. Until we are sufficiently “broken,” we will continue to convince ourselves that we have something to offer, and we will find ourselves too self-dependent to really need Jesus to live His life through us. We will continue to try to whip our flesh into shape though our “rededications” and resolutions to be more dedicated in our quiet times and Bible reading.

Rely on Him

This will spill over into our evangelism as we rely on a method or a plan rather than Jesus Himself. Only He knows how to reach every person. He knows everything about them as what the really need to hear at that moment. There’s nothing wrong with having a plan and a strategy. It’s part of being trained to do the work of an evangelist.

Know Yourself

Jesus’ point, however, is that unless you have come to see just how wretched and helpless you really are, you won’t see your need to die and be replaced with something better. When Jesus has become your new life, it affects everything about you, especially, your excitement about how the Risen Christ has really changed you. I speak from personal experience. While I have been sharing the gospel for many years, these days, the joy is much more evident, and I believe those on the receiving end have no doubt that I am a changed man. This was true after I was first saved, but nothing like this.

Nothing to Share

Perhaps this why so few Christians ever share their faith. They really don’t have anything to share. They were happy to have Jesus in their lives to help them when things got rough, but they had never been taught the truth about themselves, because this kind of preaching might turn people away. Just tell them how much Jesus loves them. This fills seats but offers no power (Christ’s power) to actually change. What is offered is a self-improvement program through immediate and continual service coupled with an exhortation to pray and read their Bibles.

Just Try Harder

I hope you can see that Jesus’ message in Mark 9:9 may explain why you aren’t feeling the joy like you “should.” Your automatic response is simply to try harder, but this only leads to exhaustion. Been there. Done that. I suggest that you get alone with God and tell Him you’re fed up with what you have been taught is the “Christian life.” He’ll be delighted to respond but be prepared for some startling revelations about yourself. It won’t be pleasant, but I guarantee that it will be worth the journey.