By Bro Chris Lopez
Before writing this article, I was in deep contemplation as to what is needful and necessary for us who are seeking His righteousness (Matthew 6:33), seeking and saving that which was lost (Luke 19:10). As I discussed this with my son Alphaeus, he mentioned, “What? Are you still here?!” This statement rang a loud bell in my head and brought me back to an incident while I was employed as a pharmaceutical representative in the early 80’s in an outfit called Famalite Sdn. Bhd. under Sampoorna Holdings which no longer exists.
We had our usual Monday meetings when we would discuss our potential results for the week, potential visits to the doctors, pharmacists, hospitals, and medical halls. Our next step was to go out there and bring in the results. All of the sales staff decided to go to a nearby cafe, spend some time
together and then head out for our visits and sales. Out of nowhere our Sales Supervisor, Michael Lim stood before us, giving that stern and disappointing look and in a firm tone stated, “What? Are you still here?!”
He joined us, ordering his favourite strong black coffee. He did not lecture us, reprimand us or mentioned any of this to the management. He employed a mild approach, coaching us to achieve results we never thought possible as we were selling OTC (over the counter) products which did not need a prescription and there were many alternatives to these products. Oral rehydration salts, antacids, needles, syringes and hydrolysed non-lactose milk formulation were challenging a growing soy milk formula for infants. We had to be familiar with the benefits of our products above our competitors.
We had to learn to speak with conviction, learn the art of convincing and have that belief that our products were the best. This helped me in my faith to develop these same traits and to realise that scriptures give us godly wisdom, love, joy, peace and hope. This is the assurance of God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness when we repent, pray and humbly follow His word
which guides us in the path of righteousness.
We must have faith (Romans 10:17), be familiar with the doctrines of Christ, and instructions written by the apostles who were guided, reminded and taught the truth completely by the Holy Spirit. This encompasses matters regarding the church Jesus built, its stewardship, worship, becoming a Christian and living an obedient, humble and faithful life till the end of our journey on earth while bringing as many as we can in our pilgrim journey towards our heavenly habitation.
As I think of Michael Lim, he was formerly an insurance agent, and he was still servicing his clients even though he left the industry and had no income from that industry anymore. I was ashamed of myself as he had a lot of admirable Christ-like virtues and was not a Christian. He read a lot of
motivation books by Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie and Zig Ziglar to name a few, and he read the bible as well.
I thought to myself, here is someone who has some knowledge of the scriptures and in applying the little he knew made a very strong impact in the lives of those around him. What about us? What impact do we have on the lives of those around us? Are we serious about matters pertaining to our faith and our progress in our lives as children of God? Do we take the commandments of God seriously knowing that there are eternal consequences?
Upon becoming a child of God in July 1977, I had a lot of excitement in evangelism just as it was recorded how those who were scattered went about everywhere preaching the word. (Acts 8:4) There are many accounts in Acts of the brethren seeing the urgent need to evangelize. It was wonderful to have friends and brethren in the same school reaching out to the lost. Can we revive the evangelistic spirit and fervour we had? It was the dream of many young men to aspire to be a preacher. Can we bring back that aspiration in our young men today?
I was taught as a young man there are two qualifications for those who aspire to be involved in evangelism. Love for God and love for man (Matthew 22: 37-39). Are we concerned and see the urgency of saving the lost or will we understand the urgency in a place of torment where we will regret for eternity as recorded in the account of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31. We made a lot of mistakes but our efforts were wholehearted, our thoughts sincere and our will totally committed to helping individuals come to the knowledge of the truth.
I recall having many late nights discussing scriptures with brother Paul Singam and other brethren with my dad. It was an exciting time when my work as a pharmaceutical representative took me to Kluang, Johor Bahru,
Seremban (where my dad was serving as a full-time preacher) and in the northern region, Ipoh and Penang. At that time the desire to save souls was very strong everywhere I went. Can we bring back those good old days?
Today we are blessed with technology in that there are many ways we can use to reach out to the lost. I am happy to see good sermons posted on Facebook and Youtube. We have Skype bible studies, Zoom bible studies, and the online BCC in our access. I have even used online studies from WVBS and Apologetic Press for my prospects in Ipoh and to assist some brethren in Klang as they seek advice and guidance in reaching out to their
prospects.
We need to ask ourselves, “Do we want to evangelize and thus prove our love for God and for man?” We are saved so that we can save others. As God first loved us (1 John 4:19) we must be proactive in our love for others by setting a good example so that our light will shine and bring glory to God (Matthew 5:16). It is important to grow in knowledge and grace (2 Peter 3:18). Reach out to the lost and help them to observe the teachings of Christ (Matthew 28:19-20) realising that God had appointed a day on which He
judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31).
Are we busy in the work of the Lord as the 5 talents trader and the 2 talents trader or will we be like the 1 talent trader who buried his talent and had a lot to say to no avail but it resulted in his being condemned. (Matthew 25:14-29). He was called lazy and wicked for doing nothing for the progress of the master’s business. We must be prepared by fulfilling the attributes mentioned in (2 Peter 1:3-11) resulting in us being fruitful and securing an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Since there is a lot of work to be done, it is good to consider and reflect to see if you need to be asked “What? Are you still here?!” It is time to get involved in the work of the Lord and winning souls towards the cause of Christ.
