I have spent most of my life tugging on unripe fruit. Those who are not quite ready to allow Jesus to transform them into His image. They are not bad. They are just not ready or open to hearing the gospel quite yet. They need time to ripen. Meanwhile, I have passed by a lot of people who were ripe, ready, willing, and able to give Jesus the stool of their heart. All I would have had to do was touch them, and they would have fallen off the tree right into my hand. I tried to rush the “ripening” process for the green fruit rather than harvesting the fruit that was ready to pick.
The Lord is showing me that a green apple is just as much apple as a ripe one. It just taste sour because it has not had enough time in the presence of sunshine, water, cold, and heat to soften it up and make it delicious. The fruit must have time to ripen. It is a vital part of its journey. Picking it too early will damage its destiny.
I am at that point in my life where I want to spend what time I have left talking about what really matters with those who really care. I want to pour all Jesus’ has shown me into people who are ripe and ready to go out and do the same.
Dr. Delos Miles, my evangelism professor in seminary, used to say: “Evangelism is not complete until a person is saved, discipled, equipped, and ready to repeat the process with another person who will go out and repeat the process.”
My philosophy as to the best way to “evangelize” has changed dramatically over the years. I use to think that I had to get people together and disciple them by teaching the Word of God. Get as many people in one place as possible and then teach them how to act like Jesus and share Him with the world. But Jesus did not do it that way. He did not arrive on earth looking for a piece of property upon which to build His church. He came to purchase a people with His own blood who would be His church and the temple in which He lived and dwelt. Into these saints, He chose to pour Himself. These would repeat the process until every soul had an opportunity to hear the good news.
He climbed a mountain and invited those He wanted with Him. They climbed together. He settled on twelve, and designated them apostles. The plan was that they would be with him, and He would send them out to proclaim the Word and give them authority to banish demons (Mark 3:13-16 MSG).
Do you see Jesus’ plan? It was not to gather a crowd and teach them about the Kingdom of God. No, the plan was that they would be WITH HIM. Jesus understood that values are caught, not just taught. His goal was to equip His apostles to evangelize the world.
It is a simple rule of the universe: you become who and what you surround yourself with. You are a direct result of the thoughts that you think, the people that you spend time with, and the books that you read. One year from now, you will be exactly the same person that you are today EXCEPT for the books that you read, the people who you spend time with, and the thoughts that you think.
Therefore, if you want to change your life, then you must change your thoughts, change the people that you hang out with, and change the books that you read. No wonder the Bible has so much to say about renewing our mind. The people we hang out with affect our thoughts. Our thoughts affect our actions. Our actions determine our character. Our character determines our destiny.
As a man thinks in his heart, so is he… (Proverbs 23:7 KJV).
Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33 NIV).
The apostles dropped everything to spend their lives with Jesus. Aren’t you glad they did?
Now go and do likewise.
Blessings,
Kenny
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