I
hear and fully embrace the call in the Church to reach the lost with
the Gospel. As I spend time in prayer and meditation, this
responsibility weighs heavy upon my heart. Time is short and what we
are going to do for God, we must do it quickly. We have spent time in
prayer seeking God for His instructions for this hour. I hear the
Holy Spirit saying, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and
then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and
look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest,”John
4:35. I hear Him say, “don’t postpone the harvest, the harvest is
ready.”
I
am hearing the message of Jesus’ soon coming more each day and I
believe that is the inspiration of God allowing us to know that time
is short. That being the case, we cannot delay in fulfilling Christ’s
commission to His Church to preach the Gospel and make disciples. We cannot afford to delay or be negligent in our Divine task.
There is too much at stake. The salvation of those we love and
influence is at risk. Who will reach them if we are not obedient to
His calling? How can we escape if we neglect this great salvation.
The time to win them is while God is calling us! If He is instructing
us to take the message, He is preparing hearts to receive the
message!
The
Gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer to the needs of all people. In
the book of Luke, the angels announcement of the birth of Christ was
the proclamation of Good News for all mankind. Luke 2:10, “And the
angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings
of great joy, which shall be to all people.” All men must hear the
message of redemption and freedom in Christ.
Jesus
left the Divine opportunity of sharing the “Good News” with the
world to the Church. Matt. 28:18, “And Jesus came and spake unto
them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them
to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am
with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
The
Body of Christ is commissioned to carry the “Good News” into all
the world. In v18 Jesus states that He has all power. Why is that
important? In the very next verse, Jesus outlines the task of those
that remain to carry the Gospel to all nations, “Go ye
therefore...” doing what He had done, saving the lost, healing the
sick, teaching to observe all the things that Jesus had taught. And
because He had all power, He anointed with power to accomplish the
commission given. He validated this fact by, “I am with you
always.” The Christ with all power promised to always be with His
disciples in every generation to secure the completion of His
commission.
Our
“Mission” is ordained by God and empowered by God. This “Mission”
is one that we must accept individually and collectively as the
Church. Christ commissioned the Church but as His disciples, we must
embrace His command and accept individual responsibility to tell the
“Good News.” The Church will fulfill Her role and complete Her
Mission. As individuals we have a choice. We will either embrace His
call or settle for something less than complete surrender. Without
total abandon for Christ we cannot finish our assignment
successfully. We cannot afford to fail in this endeavor. Matt. 7:21,
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is
in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and
in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess
unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
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