This week, students, faculty, staff and administration of Loma Linda University Health (LLUH) have gathered in the LLUC sanctuary for the 2017 Week of Renewal. All year long, the spiritual focus of LLUH is on connecting—connecting to God, to others, and to ourselves. This week we have focused on connecting to Jesus. We have done so by looking at some key passages from his life and ministry. The week will finish on Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m., 10:25 a.m., or 11:45 a.m. by looking at an aspect of Jesus’ ministry that Pastor Roberts has chosen to call The Secret.
Randy Roberts speaking to Loma Lind Univeristy students during Week of Renwal, January 9-14, 2017.
Any of us who grew up in church became accustomed to being told that it was our God-given call and duty to share the gospel with others. For some of us, that created guilt that we didn’t do it enough and resentment that we were too often told to do it more!
But if you look at the New Testament, that sentiment is precisely right—it is a biblical concept. Jesus voices that directive at different times in his ministry, including at the hour of his ascension, where he tells his disciples to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations (see Matthew 28:19–20). On another occasion, having delivered a man from demon possession, Jesus tells the man to “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:20, TNIV). With passages such as those, no wonder we preachers often urge our congregants to share the gospel with others!
But what if I were to tell you that there ought to be an inevitability about it? That, if Jesus lives in your heart, you actually cannot hide it? That if you are deeply connected to him, his presence will automatically shine out? That if he lives in your heart, you can’t help but tell it?
Do you suppose that would that change the way you approach sharing your connection with Jesus?
Randy Roberts, Senior Pastor, Loma Linda University Church