2020 has certainly been an unexpectedly tumultuous year for the whole planet. All nations are struggling to stay afloat. Economies are on the brink of collapse. Governments are trying to balance safety, freedom, and tyranny. The Christian Church is also trying to catch up to stay relevant in these changing times. I don’t have to tell you about the hardships going around because you experience them every day. I can share with you how God is stirring my heart for the Church and for the World. He is saying that you must fulfill the Great Commission.
God’s plan for you to “Go Forth” has never changed. We are all now finding that we have fallen short on certain aspects of “going forth.” For decades now, the world has used the internet to connect and create. By far, the Church has failed to use all the available media to preach and make disciples. We have mostly relied on our Sunday services and television programing to reach the world around us. Clearly, that is changing quickly.
You have probably used social media differently in the past few months. Maybe you have opened a Facebook account or started watching YouTube videos. You might now rely on Facetime or Zoom to connect face-to-face for meetings or conversations. On Easter Sunday my whole family connected on Zoom across five states and two countries to fellowship and pray together. Something we should have been doing all along.
So how can you respond during these changing times to the Lord Jesus’ call to go into all the earth and preach the Good News? First, you must answer, “YES!” The Lord has always been and will always be commanding us to GO! We must hear that and say “yes, Lord, I will go to wherever and whomever you send me.” It all boils down to willingness and obedience. The Lord will do all the miraculous work if we just take action—that is His promise.
Second, you must live the Good News of Jesus Christ. You might be asking if I mean preaching a sermon. Not necessarily. Everything you do from your home and family life, your current work status, your new social media interactions, and your limited marketplace experiences should reflect the message that Jesus is alive, He is coming soon, and His Blood can still wash away every stain. That should be the mission of every Believer in Christ no matter how far we must socially distance.
Lastly, even though social distancing is a forced reality, and most of us are in some form of quarantine, the Church of Jesus Christ is still required to have physical interaction with each other and with the world. The Lord commanded that you and I “go into” in order to make disciples, baptize, be in harm’s way (with protection), and lay hands on the sick so they can recover. Just picture how Jesus would be interacting right now. All those things require you to be close to and sometimes touch someone. You and I have a mandate from the Lord to interact with others during dangerous times even if the whole world is telling us not to. Obviously, we use wisdom and common-sense and not act in ways that can hurt others. However, you and I, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, must continue to advance the Kingdom of God by preaching the Good News, showing forth the Love of God, being the Light of the World, and really providing Hope and Healing to a lost and dying world. Then you will fulfil your Great Commission.
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