EFFECTIVE GUIDELINES TO REACH THE UNREACHED
Pastor Gboyega Oyinloye
“And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them…. Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days” – Ezekiel 3:4; 15.
With every heartbeat, man moves closer and closer to eternity which will be spent either in Heaven or hell, depending on the individual’s choice. It is the desire of God that all men end up with Him. 2 Peter 3:9 says, God is “.. not willing that any should perish..”, for this reason, He makes every effort to reach out to all and sundry, irrespective of race or status.
The moment a sinner repents; there is monumental celebration in Heaven, just like the owners of the recovered lost sheep and coin celebrated. The joy of the father of the prodigal son knew no bound at the return of his lost son. (Luke 15:1-24). The great interest of the Lord lies in having “…all men saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim 2:4). Since our God is not interested in the eternal damnation of anyone, He therefore, calls on all who believes in Him to “go and teach all nations His words”. In other words, every believer is entrusted with the work of evangelism. If you are a Christian, you are a missionary. The question now is, how can you, a missionary, be effective in this God – given assignment?
In our text, Ezekiel said, ‘I sat where they sat.‘ This phrase caught my attention as I was doing my morning devotion one day. As I dwelt on this phrase, a thought came to my heart that this is an effective guideline in the hands of a missionary.
What does ‘I sat where they sat‘ imply? Patrick Lewis said, “You must feel it in order to heal it”. A good understanding of this phrase will give us the guidelines we need on how to reach the unreached:
- BE READY TO SERVE – Prophet Ezekiel did not seek a position of influence. Similarly, Jesus Christ, the greatest missionary, carried the heart of a servant, He was down to heart, nothing mattered to Him except the salvation of mankind and the Kingdom business – He came to serve and not to be served. (Matt. 20:28)
- DO NOT SEEK PERSONAL COMFORT – The prophet did not seek personal comfort. He ate the kind of food they ate and drank the water they drank. In a same manner, Jesus Christ never placed His comfort above the kingdom assignment; neither did Paul, an accomplished missionary. (1 Cor. 9:20-23; Heb. 2:18).
- UNDERSTAND YOUR ENVIRONMENT – He understood their plight and identified with their sufferings, He did not add to it. Likewise Moses, chose to suffer with the Israelites rather than enjoy royal delicacies. (Heb. 11:25-27).
- IDENTIFY WITH THE PEOPLE – By sitting where the captives sat, Ezekiel made friends with them to get their attention. During the earthly ministry of Jesus, He made friends with all kinds of people, just to win them into the Kingdom. (Luke 19:1-10). Paul said ‘he became all things to all men to win some’. 1 Cor. 9:22.
- BE COMPASSIONATE – Prophet Ezekiel did not exploit their predicament. Instead, he ministered to their needs. Prophet Samuel said in 1 Sam 12:3 “…whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you”. Similarly, Apostle Paul was contended with his state of welfare, he never communicated his needs to the people he was sent to whether directly or indirectly. The people who ministered to him did so out of their own free will.
Jesus Christ, the most effective missionary who left indelible marks on the earth (His mission field) left “…us an example that we should follow His steps”. (I Peter 2:21). You have been called to impact lives. If you approach ministerial assignment as Ezekiel did, the impact will be tremendous.
In conclusion, John 13:17 says, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” May we be doers of God’s words in Jesus name.
