BEYOND JERUSALEM: WOMEN, LIVING THE GOOD NEWS!


BEYOND JERUSALEM: WOMEN, LIVING THE GOOD NEWS!

(A Direct Charge to Baptist Women Across Africa- Pastor Elias Apetogbo- Continental President, All Africa Baptist Fellowship)

Wonderful Baptist women, the call is bigger than us, bigger than our churches, bigger than our unions and bigger than our nations. We are called to go beyond Jerusalem.

Acts 1:8 calls us to be Christ’s witnesses beyond the places we know and the spaces where we are comfortable. To go beyond Jerusalem is to think beyond ourselves, beyond our families, beyond our local churches, beyond our ministries, beyond our conventions and unions, beyond women, and beyond our countries. The burden of God reaches where our eyes may not yet see and where our hands may not yet be able to reach.

LIVING THE GOOD NEWS BEFORE YOU PREACH IT

The first call is to live as disciples of Christ.

Our lives must become living messages. We are not finished simply because we have shared the Gospel, led someone to Christ, witnessed baptism or helped someone become a church leader. We must help people become firmly connected to Christ, with an unshakable faith.

So, ask yourself:

What are people learning from my life?

When people see me without hearing me speak, does my lifestyle teach them about Jesus?




GO BEYOND YOURSELF

Do not allow your ministry to become your boundary.

There is a world beyond your local church. There are people beyond your immediate circle. There are needs beyond your personal concerns.

Think globally. Think beyond yourself.

God’s burden is bigger than what concerns you and bigger than what you can personally see or handle.

You are an ambassador of Jesus Christ, called to proclaim the Good News, bring freedom to those in bondage, bring hope to the oppressed and demonstrate the favour of God.

DO NOT ALLOW DISTRACTIONS TO STEAL YOUR ASSIGNMENT

The Church faces distractions that can weaken our witness: the rise of secularism, the decline of a biblical worldview, the infiltration of syncretic practices, compromised integrity, financial pressures and the decline of prayer and spiritual discipline.

Therefore, women of God, guard your spiritual life. Guard your identity. Guard your integrity. Guard your prayer altar.

Do not allow the pressures around you to silence the message within you.

BECOME WOMEN OF PRAYER

If we are going beyond Jerusalem, we must go on our knees first.

The early Church lived in constant prayer. They prayed together, remained watchful and devoted themselves to prayer.

Prayer is not an occasional activity for the woman who wants to make a Kingdom impact. Prayer must become a way of life.

Find a prayer partner. Carry one another's burdens. Rejoice together over answered prayers. Build one another up in the Lord.


Families need women who will pray.

Churches need women who will pray.

Nations need women who will pray.                                                                                                                       Africa needs women who will pray.

WALK IN YOUR GOD-GIVEN AUTHORITY

You have been called to reign, but the prerequisite is to live the Good News. Your sphere of influence is not limited to the church. It includes your home, workplace, public spaces, places you visit and every environment into which God sends you.

Your righteousness, good works and godly conduct can bring the light of God into places where darkness has prevailed.

Where light comes, darkness cannot remain.

Therefore, do not underestimate your influence.

SERVE YOUR SOCIETY

Living the Goodnews is not only about what we say. It is also about what we do.

We are called to become sensitive to the suffering around us and to serve our societies. Even simple acts that bring transformation to our environment can become expressions of the Good News.

Let your neighbourhood know that a woman of God lives there.

Let your workplace feel the difference.

Let the vulnerable experience compassion.

Let your community encounter Christ through your service.

LEAD WITH FEAR OF GOD, HUMILITY AND HONOUR

As you go beyond Jerusalem, never lose the character of Christ.

Put God’s honor before your own. Walk in humility. Honor the gifts and contributions of others. Do not allow self-importance or selfish ambition to take the place of Kingdom service.

The farther God takes you, the humbler you must become.

WOMEN OF AFRICA, THIS IS YOUR MOMENT!

Do not remain where you have always been.

Do not limit your calling to what is familiar.

Do not allow fear, convenience, financial pressure, cultural limitations or spiritual distractions to keep you from your assignment.

Go beyond Jerusalem.

Go beyond yourself.

Go beyond your family.

Go beyond your church.

Go beyond your ministry.

Go beyond your Union.

Go beyond your country.

Go where the Good news is needed.

And wherever you go, let your life preach, let your service speak, let your prayers prevail and let Christ be seen through you.

BEYOND JERUSALEM — WOMEN LIVING THE GOOD NEWS!

The question is no longer, “Who will go?”

The question is: “Lord, where do You want me to go?”



Elias Apetogbo

Continental President,

All Africa Baptist Fellowship

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