In order to reach out to others, you first have to be able to take care of yourself. In order to reach out to Somalis for Christ, you first have to be able to be set free from you own problems and issues.
There are many things that could hold a person back from reaching out to others. One of the main things is serving money rather than serving God. Lots of people are so obsessed with making money that they don’t have any time to reach out to others. Many people are so busy making as much money as they can that they don’t think they have any time to do anything else. From the time they wake up, to the time they go to bed, all they think about is how to keep making money.
Jesus said: “You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24).
There was a time when I was like that. I would wake up early and go to work, and stay late and get extra money by working overtime. I would work 6 days a week. But my spiritual life suffered. I didn’t have time to pray, or read my Bible. I learned that if you want to serve God, you can’t try and make as much money as possible, because making money, and serving money, will use up all of your time.
You can’t reach out to others if you are addicted to something. If someone is addicted to alcohol or drugs, they are not going to be able to share the gospel with many people. Alcohol and drugs become their masters. The alcohol and drugs start to lead their lives. If a person keeps taking drugs and alcohol then eventually the alcohol and drugs will ruin their lives. I knew a man once, a Somali man, who was addicted to alcohol. He was an alcoholic. He drank every day. Rum and beer were his favourite. He died at the age of 44 or so. He drank himself to death. Jesus said that the devil came to steal, kill and destroy. If you are an addict then the devil will steal your joy, kill your dreams, and destroy your body.
Fear is another reason why people do not reach Somalis for Christ. If someone is afraid of something, that person is going to avoid doing what it is they may want to do. If you are afraid to do something, usually you will avoid doing it. Fear paralyzes people. Fear freezes people. Fear is like chains that are put around you. Chains that are tied to the ground. You can’t move. You can’t speak. You can’t reach out. Jesus said: “I have come to set the captives free. I have come to loose the chains.” Jesus can set you free the bondage you are in so that you can reach people for Christ.
It would be wise for us all the remember what Jesus said:
““Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.j 29 What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coink? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. 30 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.
32 “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.
34 “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.
35 ‘I have come to set a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
36 Your enemies will be right in your own household!’l
37 “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. 38 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. 39 If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.”
God wants us to be the one who go out there and set other people free. But in order to set other people free, we ourselves need to be free from serving money. We need to be set free from our addictions. We need to get over our fear of persecution. We need to stop loving the world and our family more than we love Jesus.
It says in Isaiah:
“No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.”
We need to love Jesus so much that we want to reach out to our brother and tell him about Jesus. We need to love Jesus so much that we want to reach out and tell our family about Christ. We need to Jesus so much that we want to pray for other and see them set free from demonic oppression.
If you are struggling in any of the above areas I want to pray for you.