What's Your Rooftop?

10/14/2014

Do you ever wonder, what's my rooftop? Where is my place of influence? Think for a moment about where you are heard. Who is your audience? A pastor preaches to his congregation. A worship singer considers the stage her place of influence, proclaiming the gospel through song. A politician's cries for justice resound in the auditorium of Congress. but where do YOU make your voice heard?

The mission of every believer is to proclaim the message of the Gospel. As we get to know Christ better and love Him more, we are naturally compelled to share the good news of His redeeming love for us. Never before have we had such a tremendous opportunity to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) by reaching those in "all nations." The question is, how do you carry out your mission?

Ultimately, our mission field is wherever we are at the moment. True, social media is an amazing, world-reaching platform we can use for the Kingdom. But words alone are not always convincing. When people see how we live our lives - how we put actions to our faith - they will take notice of what we say. Character is convicting. And character is best seen up close. As a pastor friend recently said, "Your daily life is the platform your faith is lived on."*

Whatever I tell you in the darkness,
say it in the light;
and whatever you hear with your ears,
preach on the rooftops.
~Matthew 10:27; Aramaic English Bible

So... What Do I Preach?

That said, there are times when the Lord wants to amplify our voices. Matthew 10:27 and Matthew 28:19 are mandates to every believer to proclaim the Good News - loudly! So we use the tools at our disposal: social media, books, the marketplace and television to reach as many people as we can. We share our testimony when asked. We leave the results up to God.

What's Your Rooftop? Missions article from Deborah Perkins

Shout it Out!

There is nothing covered that will not be revealed,
nor hidden that will not be known.
What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight,
and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms
will be proclaimed from the roofs.
Luke 12:2-3, NIV

So what is it that we "preach from the rooftops?" We preach, of course, the commands Christ gave us and wanted us to pass on. But it's deeper than that. Our rooftop shouts ultimately come from our quiet listening: the words we hear directly from Him. It is these decidedly personal words, the words we hear in our "inner rooms," that make each of our "rooftop shouts" unique. We preach the things He has told us and the love He has shown us.

I shout about a God who hears us and whom we can hear. I shout about a Savior who delivers us not only from sins, but from financial difficulties, emotional scars, and sicknesses. I shout by putting some of these things in writing. You will shout similar things, but in a different way. This is the beauty of the God we serve. He doesn't tell us HOW to shout, only that we should. He uses each of our individual personalities and creative inclinations to reach His world.

However you shout and whatever your rooftop, I pray that the words He gives you will impact your place of influence and accomplish all that you hope for. (Isaiah 55:11).