Preach To Them

3 ^1-2 Next, God spoke to Jonah a second time: “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They’re in a bad way and I can’t ignore it any longer.”
³ This time Jonah started off straight for Nineveh, obeying God’s orders to the letter.
Nineveh was a big city, very big—it took three days to walk across it.
⁴ Jonah entered the city, went one day’s walk and preached, “In forty days Nineveh will be smashed.”
⁵ The people of Nineveh listened, and trusted God. They proclaimed a citywide fast and dressed in burlap to show their repentance. Everyone did it—rich and poor, famous and obscure, leaders and followers.

A lot of believers get shy when it comes to sharing their faith. When I was growing up, most people thought it was only their preacher’s job to share the gospel and reach people. In reality, the minister’s job is to “equip the saints for ministry.” (Eph. 4:12)

Anyone can talk about God, and there are different ways to make a statement. Like mowing your elderly neighbor’s lawn, and when they ask why, you can say, “Because God wanted to love on you today, and He wanted to do that through me.” That will get their attention and, over time, give you an opening to share your testimony or faith in God. I call that kind of witnessing “Lifestyle Evangelism.” You show them “God’s love” and that you are NOT some weird fanatic! Your life makes an impact and gets their attention.

But what if you don’t like someone? Perhaps you are like Jonah above, and you have little concern if someone faces destruction. What I didn’t post was the first two chapters of the book of Jonah. God asked him to preach to the people of Nineveh to give them one last chance to accept Him and amend how they are living their lives. Otherwise, God was going to destroy them. Jonah didn’t obey at first.