A dear church member and saint of a man, Mr. Bill Parks, passed away several weeks ago. He was known for being a ray of hope and encouragement. Bill would buy devotional books and give them a try, vetting them to see if they were worth giving out, and then pray and discern who that particular book needed to go to. A true spirit of evangelism and discipleship.
After having been diagnosed with cancer, Bill had a nurse that encouraged him during his treatments. She handed him a tiny rubber figurine that resembled Jesus one day and said, “Here Bill. Everybody needs a little Jesus.” Bill thought it was awesome and carried a little Jesus with him everywhere he went, giving out his own to others with the same tag line.
Our youth have gotten quite a kick out of having one of their own figurines, so much that I have had to order a box full of them in order to keep up with demand. The other night, just before youth began, one of the kids was telling me about needing another one because they gave theirs to someone who needed encouragement. I brought out a box of them, which raised her eyebrows and then peaked the attention of the other kids. “I want more Jesus!” exclaimed one youth, drawing the others to the box, where they proceeded to hoard a handful each to take to school and give out. One of the youth said, “You wouldn’t believe the places I have left these for people to see. The bathroom is a great place because one look at the walls in there and you see how bad they need Jesus.” The grin on their face was particularly funny (and not, because I remember high school bathroom walls).
“I want more Jesus”—could there be better words for a youth (or anybody) to utter?
The youth wanted more Jesus!
“For the scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved . How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How timely is the arrival of those who proclaim the good news.’ —Romans 10:11-15 (NET)
In this text, Paul makes the case that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. To call on the name of Jesus is to trust in Him and not in anything else. It means you have heard that He has died for all of our sins, offering us forgiveness. His forgiveness is there to be received and have applied to us if we will turn from our sins and put our faith in Him. Thanks to Jesus’ work on the cross we can now repent and believe! We can have a place in God’s family in and through Jesus. Everyone should hear news this good!
But as the Scripture also says, people won’t hear it unless they are told, and they aren’t told unless someone tells them, and no one can tell them if no one has sent them, and so someone who knows has to send others that know so that everyone else will know!
Like the youth in our church, I want you to want more Jesus. My prayer for you is that God will poke and prod you to speak up and speak out about what God has offered through the power of the cross. Take Him everywhere you go, testifying to the truth of the Scriptures, or telling your own story of how He found you and used someone who wanted more Jesus to tell you about Jesus. Consider this as me sending you!
Its the people who want more Jesus who are sent to tell others about Jesus so that others can call upon Jesus and be saved.
—Pastor Whit