Jesus has a great agenda and those who fail to understand and cooperate with His plan are continually confused. But all who humbly listen and join Him will find themselves in the most glorious enterprise possible. The longing in our hearts to make a difference will be completely satisfied, and the purpose of our Father will be fulfilled.
THE GOSPEL
Christ was preparing to leave the earth and spoke of the end of time. His followers wanted to know if this would be happening immediately. But Jesus tempered their enthusiasm with ten words. These help us understand His purpose and His timing.
“The gospel must first be preached to all the nations” (Mark 13:10).
The beauty of this prophecy is that it springs effortlessly from the passion of our Triune God. God wants life-saving news to go to everyone. He does not desire that anyone should perish. This is not just any message, but the truths that will take a man or woman, boy or girl from hell to heaven and death to life.
He has ordained a means by which we can be eternally delivered. But to do so, we must hear the gospel. And He delays His return until all those who need to know will hear.
THE SPEAKERS
His sovereign plan allows us to join Him in the most important task on earth: bringing the gospel to all nations. There is no Plan B. He has ordained to save people who will, in turn, carry the good news to others who will be saved. And His multiplying work will continue until the end of this world.
This is not only perfectly effective, but it is good news for those who follow Him. What a privilege to receive the gospel from those who speak to us and then to spend our lives taking the gospel to others. No man will ever receive a greater calling than this nor experience a more exciting life.
THE SPIRIT
But to do this task takes two things we do not have on our own: Spiritual power and spiritual words. Only the Spirit residing in us could give us the courage to share the gospel (particularly in light of inevitable persecution). And also, we need the words to articulate the gospel.
Here, the Spirit of God explodes in one of His greatest works in us. He gives us the power and the words. Two sentences from Jesus describe this phenomenon.
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8).
“When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit (Mark 13:11).
These tandem promises from God give us all we need to join Him. When we come to Him in salvation, He places His Spirit in us, promising power and utterance. God will give us the words through the Holy Spirit’s agency. There is no need to fear that we will be at a loss when sharing Him with others.
How those words are imparted is a Divine mystery … as mysterious as the Spirit invading and indwelling each believer. But we can be assured of this: God wants His life-giving words, His good news, to go to all we meet, all over the world. And if we cooperate with Him in His gospel agenda, He will give us every single needed word at every single moment with every single person. Blessed Purpose-Sharer and Word-Giver!
