An Evangelistic Heart for Our City - Clay Harrington
Clay Harrington |
January 17, 2024
See Clay's devotional below:
“With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.” Romans 9:1-3
Willing to be forever cursed? Cut off from Christ? Yikes! This is a very strong language Paul uses here to plead his case. To put this passage in context– Paul is sharing, with the Church in Rome, his burning desire to see his Jewish siblings come to a saving faith in Jesus! Personally, every time I read these words it brings a chilling conviction to my core. Do I share in Paul’s burning desire to see the unsaved saved? Is my heart filled with ‘bitter sorrow and unending grief’ to see the unreached in my city... reached? And do I even want to know the answers to those questions?
Left to our own efforts and energy, we all will fall short of this “Romans 9:1-3 Bar” to see others come to know Him—each and every time! But thank God this evangelistic burden doesn’t come from our desires, but His. Without the empowerment and enablement of the Holy Spirit, we’ll continue making failed attempt after failed attempt trying to go at this alone. It’s only in the power of the Holy Spirit that our hearts break for the unsaved. It’s only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we long to even want others to know Him because…it’s through the power and infilling of the Holy Spirit that we become effective witnesses for the King and His Kingdom. And this Good News gets even better…we don't need to be forever cursed and cut off from Christ for others to enter into the Kingdom. Our salvation is assured and secure in Him regardless of our feelings or evangelistic competency. We who are in Christ are sent out by Christ in the power and authority of His Spirit. We are qualified to do the work of an evangelist.
Pray with me: “Holy Spirit, according to your power at work within me, I pray you fill my heart with bitter sorrow and unending grief for the lost in my city. Teach me how to lovingly share with others who don’t yet know you. Stir in me that I may burn for you in such a way there’s an urgency for the unlikely to come to a saving faith in You. Amen.”