2 Timothy 4:2 ‘Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.’

DAILY READING; Acts 27:13-44; 1 Samuel 3; Psalm 51.

On 23 February 2019, Pastor Oluwole Ilesanmi, a 64 year old street preacher in London, was arrested for an alleged “breach of the peace” as he preached the Gospel outside Southgate Underground Station. A passer-by had called the police and accused Pastor Ilesanmi of hate speech.
As the police arrived and tried to arrest him, the preacher pleaded peacefully with them not to take away his Bible. However in a humiliating arrest, they placed his arms behind his back in handcuffs and took the Bible from him. In a verbal exchange recorded in a two-minute video, one officer told the preacher that he was “required to go away” because he was “disturbing people’s day”. The preacher responded, “I will not go away because I need to tell them the truth. Jesus is the only way, truth and life.”
The video of the preacher’s arrest went viral especially in West African countries such as Ghana and Nigeria, with around 3 million views as at that time.
The arrest of the Nigerian preacher turned out to be unlawful, because the police officers had no right to order him to stop preaching as long as his action was not inciting violence. For the unlawful arrest, the Metropolitan Police was later forced to make a payout of £2,500 to the preacher.
However though this story ended in victory for the preacher, it is not always the case around the world. In many parts of the world today, Christians are suffering persecution for preaching the Gospel. Many have shed their blood for sharing the good news. In some countries like Saudi Arabia and Maldives, conversion from Islam is punishable by death, Church buildings are forbidden and it is illegal to even own a Bible. However opposition to the Gospel is not new. In Acts 16 Paul and Silas when in Philippi were stripped, beaten, and imprisoned because of the Gospel.
Yet in spite of the strong oppositions he faced, in 1 Corinthians 9:16, Paul said ” ‘For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!..’
The sense of urgency Paul felt towards the preaching of the Gospel made him to command Timothy to be instant or urgent in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2). This same sense of urgency led Paul to serve the Lord “with tears, and with trials, incessantly admonishing men night and day.’’
We must have this same sense of urgency in our efforts to reach the lost. It doesn’t matter the oppositions, excuses or reasons that sometimes try to hinder us, nothing should deter us from the mission of reaching the lost. In this end-times, there is simply no opposition strong enough to stop every effort to take the good news to the dying world. The value of a soul to Jesus is worth more than all the wealth of the world put together. In Matthew 16:26 Jesus said ‘For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul’.
Each soul is very important. This is why there is a serious ongoing spiritual battle and contention for the souls of men on the earth. The battle for souls is the reason behind the great opposition towards the preaching of the Gospel. Therefore for those of us who live in nations where we can still preach the Gospel freely, let us utilize the grace available to us and by every possible means win the lost. If there are Christians willing to give their lives to preach in countries repressive to the Gospel, what are we doing with the window of opportunity we still have? With all the technology and resources we have today, what excuse do we have for not spreading the good news?
Let us not squander the grace of God, but rather through the help of the Holy Spirit, let us do all we can to reach the lost while there is still time.
PRAYER: Lord, please let the zeal to preach Your Word burn like fire in my bones, May my heart never grow cold or complacent towards reaching the lost with the good news of salvation. Please grant me the grace to always preach the Gospel in season and out of season wherever I go in Jesus Name.

QUOTE
There is something that God has placed within you that the world is eagerly awaiting to see