Mark Sorensen “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16
In the forty minutes it took to wind through the streets of Patna to get to the conference center, I was silent; silently reflecting what God had in store, the stories I would hear, the new friends I would make. As we began our first day of teaching and training alongside our friends with the International Leadership Institute, I found myself sitting in a small room surrounded by forty to forty-five pastors, all brothers and sisters in Christ, who, at great sacrifice, accepted the call to become followers of Jesus.
In my first teaching session, I lead an hour and a half talk titled, “The Passion for the Harvest”. We talked about Jeremiah who spoke of passion as a fire that could not be contained. We talked about Peter and his boldness for Christ. We spoke of Paul and his passion that was a convicting passion in which he was a “prisoner for the Lord” (we are captured by a love that will never let us go, thanks be to God). Then, I asked the group to get into groups of three to four and talk about a time that they had experienced God’s passion in such a way that God moved and fruit came as a result. After about ten minutes, I asked if any in the group would be willing to share what they had learned. The following stories emerged.
There’s Paul. Paul served as our translator. Paul shared that he grew up Muslim but converted to Christianity about four years ago. In a Muslim family, to convert to Christianity is unforgivable. As a result, his parents tried to poison him twice because of his decision to become a follower of Jesus Christ. He quickly moved away, changed names and identity, and he and his family now reside in Patna as he pastors a small house church and helps to serves as an interpreter for ILI. It was his passion for Christ that led him to hold to his faith and lead him to where he is today.
Another man shared the following. As he was walking the streets of his community, he felt the Holy Spirit lead him into a small hut where he encountered a man who was close to death. The Holy Spirit told him to pray for this man’s healing and he did. Suddenly, the man was healed. Seventy people in that community came to know Jesus through the miracle of that healing and, today, almost four hundred have been led to Christ because of this man’s story and healing.
Of the forty-five pastors here, two are women. One of my sisters in Christ shared her story of converting to Christianity from Hinduism. She shared that, even though there were 33 million gods in the Hindu faith, none of them could satisfy the way God had met her in her faith through Jesus Christ. Though she converted to Christianity, she kept it a secret from her husband out of fear. During the day, as he thought she was going out to work, she was actually sharing Jesus with all that she met. Today, she, her husband and family, all have come to know Jesus and the grace and forgiveness that come through the power of the cross.
As I heard the stories from my brothers and sisters in the faith, God led me to Romans and the verse listed above. “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.” Story after story that was shared contained such sacrifice and risk on behalf of those willing to stand for Jesus in their lives. Identities had to be changed, obedience to the Holy Spirit’s promptings and a prayer of healing was offered, and, in a culture with millions of gods, only the one true God could satisfy and that God is now worshipped among an entire Hindu family.
Friends, we mustn’t be ashamed of the Gospel for it truly possesses the power of God and this power is transforming lives. It is bringing salvation in powerful ways to all who hear, to all who believe. The problem is this. If we are not sharing the Gospel, how will salvation come? How will people know? We must be willing to share the good news.
I am humbled, blessed and in love with these lives that I have been blessed to stand beside over these past several ways. God is not silent in India. He is moving among His people amidst a community of faith that refuses to be ashamed of the Gospel with which they are held. May we all be so bold with the good news of the Gospel message that holds us all.
Amen.
As you continue to pray for our team, lift up Jennifer, Kasey, and Grace, as they are training close to forty children’s ministry leaders here in Patna and the surrounding area. Also, pray for Kirsten in our team who is leading a women’s conference that has close to fifty women in attendance. Also the three John’s and myself involved in the pastor training (how great is it to have 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Mark leading this week).
It’s an amazing thing to see how God is moving. I wish each of you could be here to witness God at work among His people.
