Make sure 'Jesus is in the house'
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___SAN ANTONIO--Churches fill when God's people make an unbelieving world aware that "Jesus is in the house," Kevin Nelson told a group of African-American Texas Baptists.
___"It is both the desire and the design of our Lord that his house be filled," said Nelson, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in San Antonio. He spoke at a worship rally sponsored by the African-American Fellowship of Texas.
___The Jan. 27 event at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church preceded the Baptist General Convention of Texas Evangelism Conference.
___"If we want God to fill the house, there must be a witness of his presence," Nelson said. "Somebody has got to know that Jesus is in the house."
___Instead of attracting crowds on the basis of celebrities at church--whether a dynamic preacher in the pulpit or a prominent athlete in the pew--God wants people drawn to worship by the "magnetic pull" of Jesus' presence, the pastor said.
___"I don't care who else is at church. Just make sure Jesus is in the house."
___Christians become aware of Jesus' presence in the midst of their worship when they spend as much time in "agonizing prayer" as they do in "organizing programs," he noted.
___Believers not only must be aware of Jesus' presence but also must be bold in sharing that news with the world around them, he added. That requires both a lifestyle of holiness and a verbal witness.
___"God wants us to be a witness by what we do. But he also wants us to be a witness by what we say."
___The church needs a witness of Jesus' presence, and it needs "a witness of his proclamation," Nelson said, urging preachers to proclaim the same uncompromising message Jesus delivered.
___Kenneth Blake, African-American consultant in the BGCT Center for Strategic Evangelism, pointed out that evangelistic outreach demands courage.
___"Evangelism is done in enemy territory, on hostile ground," Blake said, noting Jesus' admonition to his followers to go out as lambs among wolves.
___But while personal evangelism requires individual commitment, God does not expect it to be done solely by individual initiative, Blake said. Instead, Christ promises his power and presence to those who proclaim his message, he noted.? ?
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