I am involved in something that
will still be worthwhile a million years from now
because God has not revoked the great commission.
Jesus said, “And this gospel of
the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for
a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall
come” (Matthew 24:14).
Today the kingdom of God is
realized as we proclaim the crucified, risen, and
returning Lord Jesus Christ.
The gospel is the good news of
the kingdom of God that has come in the person and
work of Jesus Christ. How do we enter into the
kingdom of God? There is only one way. “Repent of
your sins and believe on Jesus Christ.” That is the
message we preach.
Our message is the gospel of
free grace. It is what God has accomplished for us
in the sacrificial substitutionary atoning death of
Jesus Christ for our sins. We offer the gospel
freely “without money and without cost” (Isa. 55:1).
John Ryle once said, “Men are
apt to forget that it does not require great open
sins to be sinned in order to ruin a soul forever.
They have only to give hearing without believing,
listening without repenting, going to church without
going to Christ, and by and by they will find
themselves in hell.”
It is imperative that we make
the message of salvation crystal clear in our
presentations. Salvation is the gift of God and it
is “by grace you have been saved through faith, and
that not of yourselves.” God has provided everything
we need in order to be saved. “Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31).
But also be assured, “Reject Jesus Christ, and you
will perish forever.”
Every time we share that
message we are personally involved in what God is
doing in building His eternal kingdom.
What can we expect as we take
the gospel out of self-edification and share it with
others? We can prepare for and accept hostility from
some listeners (Matthew 10:16-18, 21-25). There will
be men who “will deliver you up to the courts, and
scourge you in their synagogues, and you shall even
be brought before governors and kings for My sake,
as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles (v. 17).
The history of Christianity is the history of
persecution and martyrdom for the cause of Christ.
More people have been persecuted and died for Christ
during the last hundred years than in the previous
two thousand years.
We can expect God’s power and
sustaining grace to meet all of our necessities as
we take the good news to a lost world. Jesus said,
“When they deliver you up, do not become anxious
about how or what you will speak; for it shall be
given you in that hour what you are to speak” (v.
19). Those are instructions for martyrs and
Christians under persecution, not preachers getting
ready for Sunday morning without doing their
homework. The Holy Spirit gives
boldness to testify under all circumstances for
Christ. “For it is not you who speak, but it is the
Spirit of your Father who speaks in you” (v. 20).
Success in personal witnessing is simply sharing
Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and
then leaving the results up to God.
Our job is to be faithful to
Christ under all circumstances (vv. 26-27). The only
person we are to fear is the LORD God “who is able
to destroy both soul and body in hell” (v. 28). The
worst thing a man can do to us is to kill the body.
But “for me to live is Christ and to die is better
yet” (Phil. 1:21).
The Lord is sovereign in His
kingdom (vv. 30-33). There is nothing that can
happen to His faithful servant who is not fully
known to Him. Whatever we experience as His servants
is fully known to Him and happens ultimately for our
good and His eternal glory. The responsibilities are
great for all believers (vv. 34-39).
However, the rewards of being
faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ are eternal (vv.
40-42). “He who receives you receives Me, and he who
receives Me receives Him who sent Me. . . . And
whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of
these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink,
truly I say to you he shall not lose his reward”
(vv. 40, 42).
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author's written consent.
Unless otherwise noted "Scripture quotations taken from the NASB." "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE" © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://www.bible.org/. All rights reserved.
Wil is a graduate of William Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100 countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek opportunities to be personally involved in world missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
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