Everything worthwhile in life is driven by passion. Behind some of the greatest events in human history beats a heart filled with passion and desire to see certain goals meet. The church has become quite apathetic for evangelism in recent years. We think we are doing evangelism by simply meeting the felt needs of individuals. We think we are doing evangelism when numbers of increase and posted on the attendance board. We think we are doing evangelism when our baptismal pool is full each Sunday. Not to say all of these things aren’t needful and great, but are these things really changing lives? Are the current efforts to evangelize a lost world increasing the kingdom of Christ or elevating the ego and prestige of man? We all have to ask ourselves, Where is our burden and passion for evangelism? Why isn’t evangelism the church’s central function?
Valiant men and women of God mark church history’s greatest ages. Their power came from a passion for holiness and evangelizing the lost. One example is Robert Murray McCheyne, one of Scotland’s greatest preachers, who died when he was only twenty-nine. A biographer wrote that everywhere he stepped, Scotland shook. Whenever he opened his mouth, a spiritual force seemed to sweep in every direction. Thousands followed him to the feet of Christ. A traveler, eager to see where McCheyne had preached, went to his old church. An old sexton agreed to give him a tour. He led the way into McCheyne’s study. “Sit in that chair,” he ordered. The traveller hesitated a moment, then sat in the chair. On the table before him was an open Bible. “Drop your head in that book and weep. That is what our minister always did before he preached,” said the old man. He then led the visitor into the pulpit before another open Bible. “Stand there,” he said, “and drop your head on your hands and let the tears flow. That is the way our minister always conducted himself before he began to preach!” With such a passion for God’s Word and the souls of the lost, is it any wonder the Holy Spirit used McCheyne to draw so many to the Savior?
There are other examples. Because John Knox’s yearning for lost souls was so great, it was thought his pulpit would break into pieces. And it was said John Wesley did more for England than her armies and navies. He lived meagerly, having given away thousands of dollars in his lifetime. Abused and maligned, he left his reputation and soul in the hands of God. It has been estimated he traveled 225 thousand miles on foot and horseback and preached twenty-four hundred sermons. Much of the established church despised him, but he brought fire into her cold heart. Wesley looked on all the world as his parish. He had the reputation of being out of breath pursuing souls. There was also George Whitefield. Once ordained at age twenty-two, he began preaching with tremendous eloquence and effect. John Newton viewed him as the greatest preacher of his day. His power came from his passion for souls, and he used every God-given ability to lead men to Christ. He once wrote that if his life was in danger of nestling down, God–out of pity–should place a thorn into his nest! He crossed the Atlantic thirteen times and preached thousands of sermons. His gravestone reads that he was a soldier of the cross, humble, devout, and ardent, preferring the honor of Christ to his own interest, reputation, or life.
May we Pastor and People have the same heart driving passion to see a lost world come to Christ!
___________________
Image: The Disciples Peter and John Running to the Sepulchre on the Morning of the Resurrection by Eugene Burnand
Filed under: Evangelism, George Whitefield, John Knox, Robert Murray McCheyne
