A couple of weeks ago there was a big concert that came to the city that I live in. It was one of the biggest concerts that hit Wellington City. I was not for this concert due to what this particular artist stands for. He is against the Lord and he denies Jesus. This artist said in one of his quotes the following:
“I would rather spend my life in hell then know Jesus on this earth.”
I don't know how that makes you feel, but as a born again Christian, it hurts me that he wouldn't want to discover the love of Jesus for himself. I know hurt can lead us away from the truth but even the thought of not trying hurts.
This makes me nervous even writing a article on this sort of topic today but I sense in my heart that it needs to be addressed. When I saw images of Christians in the crowd of this concert jumping up and down and doing the devil signs etc., it grieved my heart.
Now I don't say this today to judge as it isn't a judgment but we need to come to the point in our lives that we are serious to build the Kingdom of God if we are born again Christians. I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit that night to put a post up on Facebook in regards to this event.
Within minutes, I had people who say they follow Jesus attack me and even accuse me of unseen circumstances that in my opinion was not part of the integrity of God in my life.
The cost of following Jesus
As much as I was devastated about these remarks from my brothers in Christ, the thought from Heaven came to me. What does the cost of following Jesus look like to you?
People would rather jump up and down at a worldly concert then jump up and down at a church gathering on a Sunday morning or night praising the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.I believe that in our hearts we need a new revelation in what it means to lay down our lives for the sake of the Gospel and follow Jesus.
It has been a battle the last few weeks but I am reminded that Jesus wants us to be people that keep our faith and keep following Jesus. What does it mean to follow Jesus? It means to lay down your life for the sake of the Gospel.
IF the Holy Spirit told you to sacrifice a negative friendship circle in order to build the Kingdom of God would you? If he told you to not go to that worldly concert to spend time hearing from Heaven what God is wanting to do in and through your life would you?
Living for Him
With this situation, people tell me that Christians went to preach the Gospel and if you are reading this and you did well done! Please let me know if you did and what happened. I don't reject going to concerts but when it comes down to being put in environments to be like the rest of the world then it becomes a issue.
We need to be people that if we live for Jesus then we need to live like we live for him. Don't compromise our conviction for an event that misleads people away from the Gospel.
If we live like the rest of the world, what does that say about us having a relationship with Jesus? Yes, Jesus loves all mankind but we can't just say because of his love and grace I can enter into such concerts and to be part of the crowd.
No, the challenge that I am bringing today is that we need to be people that surrender our whole lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ if we want to see him move and reign with power over our lives.
By doing this, we will bring many people into the Kingdom of God and our churches will be places of spirit and truth in worshipand honour to our saviour King.
Brendon Collins is a Press Service International young writer from Wellington NZ. He would love to hear from any readers if this article has encouraged you. You can find him on Facebook or Instagram or you can email him at: brendon@alc.org.nz