Preach the Gospel

Before Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, he called his followers to carry out an important mission close to his heart. We call this the Great Commission. It is the Church’s call to go and preach the Gospel to the world and to make disciples.

The Great Commission is the most important work every church is assigned to do. It should be the Number 1 priority of a church, whether big or small. This is because precious lives are at stake. Jesus says that whoever believes in him and is baptised will be saved but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Here, Jesus makes it very clear that if people are not saved through him, they will perish in hell because of their sins.

Hell is a terrible place of torment. Jesus warned people many times in the Bible not to go there. Now he is calling his followers to warn other people too. God does not desire anyone to go there. They do not have to. Jesus Christ had already paid the price for their sins. What they need to do is to repent and believe him. But if the world rejects the gift of God, then there is no other way to escape the horrible destiny of hell that burns with everlasting fire.

Hell is a reality that we must warn others. And the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important news that believers need to tell people. The whole world needs to know that they have sinned and they need a Saviour. For this reason, the command to go and preach the Gospel is the core mission given to the Church. If we neglect this, billions will perish in hell. These might include our loved ones, friends, colleagues and relatives.

Like firefighters, we are running against time to save as many people from the fire as possible. This calls for love and urgency on our part to tell as many people as possible about their need of a Saviour.

We cannot afford to remain indifferent and unconcerned about the fate of so many people around us. Let us imitate our Lord Jesus who went about teaching and preaching the Gospel with all his heart and strength. The early Church did and as a result, many people in and outside of Israel were saved. We have need to do the same if we were to see the same result.

But before we do that, there is still one very important thing we need to do. Like soldiers going to a war, we need weapons. Without them, the chance of victory is slim. So before Jesus ascended to Heaven, he called his disciples to wait for the power from above before going.

This refers to the gifts of the Holy Spirit that a believer may receive for empowering him to be an effective witness. The early disciples obeyed, waited and received the empowerment and went out to preach the Gospel with great results. If you believe, you can pray and ask Jesus to baptise you in the Holy Spirit so that you may receive this empowerment.

To sum it up, the Bible portrays believers and unbelievers as belonging to two kingdoms. By default, everyone belongs to the kingdom of darkness, being dead in sins and followers of Satan. But when we believe in Jesus Christ, we are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light.

These two kingdoms are in a fierce battle over the destiny of every person. As citizens of the Kingdom of Light, we are also in this war. We are called to rescue those who are held captive in the kingdom of darkness. This is the marching order given to the Church by Jesus Christ, our King and Commanding Officer.

Sadly, not many believers are involved in the work that is close to Jesus’ heart. So he wants us to pray for more workers to be sent into the world to do the work of the Great Commission. Let us therefore respond and be found among those who will obey and go tell the world that they need Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world.

Prayer

Father, I want to remember that I am saved because someone told me about Jesus Christ. Now I want to tell others about your Son, too. Fill me with your love for the lost and baptise me with the Holy Spirit to be an effective witness. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen