The greatest evangelist
Wouldn’t it be great if everyone in Selly Oak/Park became Christians?! According to the 2011 census that is 25,885 people all following Jesus! Even better, what if everyone in Birmingham (over a million people) turned to Christ in repentance and faith? I know what you’re thinking…’it would be fantastic, but it’s not going to happen’! But dream with me for a moment. What would we need for ‘revival’ to break out in our area? I guess we could think of several things, but a great evangelist would be a good start!
We’ve been going through the book of Jonah in Student Group (Rooted) this term and we’ve seen some amazing miracles throughout the story. In chapter 1, as soon as Jonah is thrown into the sea, a raging storm stops. In chapter 2, Jonah is ‘rescued’ when a huge fish swallows him. But in chapter 3, which we studied on Monday evening, we saw the most incredible miracle in the whole book as the ‘great city’ of Nineveh turned to the Lord. In other words, 120,000 enemies of God became friends with God. The obvious question is: how? Well, it’s not because Jonah was a particularly great evangelist. He disobeyed when God told him to go to Nineveh (1:3); his evangelistic message was 8 words long and consisted solely of judgement (3:4); and when all of Nineveh believed God as a result, instead of rejoicing, he was angry enough to die (4:3). It’s fair to say that Jonah was not a great evangelist. In fact, he has been described by one writer as ‘an idolatrous, rebellious prophet’.
‘Revival’ broke out in Nineveh, not because of Jonah, but because of God. He is the greatest evangelist. He was the one at work through the words of his prophet and in the hearts of his enemies. It is true that we need a great evangelist for many to turn to Christ in our area – and in God, we’ve got one! Bring on ‘A Passion for Life’!