moves of God – key to revival #5 – preaching the Gospel
Every historical move of God seems to be followed by a new wave of evangelists and missionaries going out to preach the Good News. Henry Blackaby, a contemporary author and teacher, says that powerful preaching is among the common experience of all true revivals. Messages concerning sin, Christ, and the cross, penetrate the hearts of the saved and lost alike with the realities of eternity.
Without continual fresh preaching of the good news of Jesus Christ, there is no Kingdom advance. We need to guard ourselves and our churches from stagnation, from becoming inward-focused. It is very tempting to spend all of our time with Christians – fellowship with other believers is very sweet. But Jesus has given us a great commission in Matthew 28:19 – these are our marching orders – “go and make disciples of all nations”. Jesus’ command to “go” is not only for those with special gifts or training – all of us have a part to play. We each have a mission field to which the Lord is sending us.
God has convicted me personally many times over recent months and I have been crying out to God for the lost to be saved. I don’t want to be so wrapped up in receiving another blessing from God that I forget that people all around me are facing a Godless eternity without Jesus Christ. I’ve been asking God to break my heart for the things that break His heart. It’s so easy to walk past and ignore the condition of people’s hearts. The needs seem overwhelming and we can easily switch off our hearts because it’s too much for us to bear. But God is greater than our hearts – we need to rely on His wisdom and strength.
In the beautiful restaurant where the Lord has brought us to enjoy a meal with Him . . . may we not forget that there are many others that He wants to dine with . . . He’s asked us to give out the invitations and bring people to the restaurant! We are the ones Jesus has entrusted with the privilege of introducing people to Him.
God promises that if we humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from evil, that He will hear from heaven and forgive our sins and heal our land. Let’s join together and cry out to God today.
Father God, give us hearts like Yours. Penetrate our hearts with the realities of eternity; give us Kingdom eyes to see people as You see them. May we never forget Your instructions to us to both share and demonstrate the Good News of the Kingdom of God. Take away the fears that prevent us from doing all that You want us to do and to go wherever You would have us to go, whether next door, across town, or to another part of the world. May Your Kingdom come in the lives of all those to whom You are sending us. Give us boldness to speak Your word clearly. Thank You that Your word never returns to You empty but will always accomplish what You desire. In Jesus’ name.
