Yes – for the past 19 years of my Christian life, Acts 20:20 has been the perfect vision for me, and I believe it is the perfect vision for the Church.
I have preached and taught the Word of God publicly and from house to house.
Paul said he preached the gospel in two ways: number one, publicly; number two, from house to house.
Every ministry has these two aspects, and so should every Christian.
Many people want to begin their ministry publicly. They come to our crusades, see the mighty works of God and the gospel being proclaimed and say: “Brother Rambabu, I want to be in full-time ministry too.” And do you know why? It’s because they are awed by the public ministry – the huge stage, bright lights, crowds running into thousands, posters with my name on, miracles, healing – all caught on video to be broadcast to yet more thousands! This is the life for them, they say.
My sister-in-law always used to say that we had such a fun-packed life, travelling from place to place in planes, trains and buses, staying in hotels, and eating different kinds of food. All we had to do was preach and come home -simple! She thought it was wonderful. My wife, Vinita, tried telling her that it was not as easy as she thought. So we took her along with us for one crusade. She could not wait for it to end so that she could get back home! Never again, she vowed!
I’ll explain why. We often have to get up at 5 a.m., sometimes we don’t get dinner until midnight, and we are fortunate if we get five hours of sleep each night! Our time is in such demand by people who want to talk or be prayed for, and we have such an exhausting schedule. In the four or five days when the crusade is on, we have to give all our energy and resources to those we have come to serve.
If you only want public recognition, you don’t have 20/20 vision. Paul said he was preaching from house to house and also publicly. I began my ministry by going from house to house, speaking one-to-one. When I was an engineering student, 1 would be at college from am to 5 pm, coming back home exhausted, only to face a lot of flak because of my faith. Even so, I would still take my bicycle and go and find someone to preach the gospel to. For Instance, I would make friends with high school students and tell them about Christ. The right vision is house-to-house and public – that is a 20/20 vision. There is no public ministry without one-to-one ministry.
I’ve been preaching this gospel for the past 19 years. I am so addicted to doing it that if I stop for ten days or so, I have withdrawal symptoms! Once, I was feeling very frustrated because I had not preached for ten days. I was so irritable that my wife, Vinita, finally couldn’t take it anymore. She suggested that I stand up on a chair and preach the gospel to her and my son.
Once you are addicted, you cannot sit still – you just have to preach the gospel, and in doing so, you bring the revelation of Jesus to people.
Try God
Also Read:
- Men in the Bible: A Man of Considerable Goodwill
- The Myth of Omnipresence (1): The 5 Places God Always Is
- Overwhelmed
- Great Truths Adults Learned
- I Passed a Professional Exam and Got a Job After 10 Years
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