Worship

“I Speak Jesus” by Charity Gayle, featuring Steven Musso

Scripture

“And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.'” -Mark 16:15-18 (ESV)

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” -Acts 1:8 (ESV)

“And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” -1 Corinthians 2:3-5 (ESV)

The Full Scope of Gospel Ministry

As our team stood at the precipice of the mountain villages of South Asia, we declared the words of the song we started off with this morning. It became the anthem of our team as we shouted the name of the One who came to save and deliver them. I envisioned an army of angels crashing in on those villages, opening wide the gate so that the King of Glory may come in! And how did He come? He came disguised as hikers and moms, translators, doctors, business people, missionaries, and daughters—Jesus, who was ready to proclaim the gospel in clarity and usher in the power and presence of the  Holy Spirit. We get to partner with the God of the universe to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth. There is no greater adventure, honor, or joy in all of life! As my teammate said to me as we were walking through the jungle, “This is really living!”

“I have fully preached the gospel of Christ through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ.” -Romans 15:19 (ESV)

I cannot imagine the full gospel preached without the Spirit’s power making Jesus seen and known—in word and in the manifest power of Himself. They both go beautifully hand in hand. This is the full scope of the gospel! We saw with our own eyes deaf people hearing and speaking, blind eyes opening, stroke patients moving, and people crying as the Lord delivered of them of pain and sickness they had battled for years. Jesus did it when He walked the Earth, and He will do it again as He lives in and through us!

Everything Jesus did in those villages in South Asia, He did to confirm His love an His goodness, to evidence the gospel message we were preaching. We bring our faith, praying with unction and conviction that God is good, and freely leave the results to Him. We don’t get to determine how or why someone is healed or not. We simply get to bring them our faith on their behalf and let God be God. But to believe that miracles signs and wonders do not exist today is grievous to me.

“Through the gospel, we all become ambassadors of Christ, reconciling the world back to God first and foremost by not counting their sins against them and then by demonstrating His love through allowing His Spirit to manifest through us. So instead of making evangelism only a message we preach, it becomes a life of love, showing people what God is like. We give to the world abundant life because that is what we have in Christ. … Jesus wasn’t just telling people about the goodness of God—He was showing it to them. And if we want to see the gospel advance in power wherever we are, we must be willing to imitate God, to walk in love, and to freely give what has been given to us.” -Peter Louis, “Back to the Gospel”

The Harvest Field Today

We are in a critical moment where the devil has captivated the imaginations of billions of people. From false religion, media, and movies (to name a few), he has been trying to hijack the attention of people. People are ultimately longing to encounter the power of the One who loves them lavishly and who died to set them free. Break any ties to the belief that Jesus doesn’t heal or perform miracles so that you can minister in the power of the Spirit with fruitfulness, faith and freedom, in Jesus’ name.

There is a harvest ahead of us! Jesus is asking us to pray for this harvest and to ask Him to send harvesters. Jesus said how we would go about doing that in Mark 16:15-18. So, I must ask you these crucial questions: Will you be willing to be one to risk it all and to go before others and lead the way? Will you count the cost and go?

Are you willing to allow your theology to be wrecked by experiencing the impossibility of Christ? Will you allow Him to be God outside of the limitations of your experience so that the Kingdom of Heaven can come on Earth?

Will you make room in your heart for miracles whether you have yet to see any? Let’s allow God to transform our faith to believe Him for everything—salvation unto eternity and the appropriation of the cross in these human bodies and souls of ours!

“God still uses ordinary, run-of-the-mill individuals—men and women who abandon their lives to His will and make themselves available to His  maneuvering. Jesus commanded every believer to join the Great Commission by making disciples of all nations. Some may enroll in this missional endeavor at home; others will go abroad. The location you serve at is not as important as your joyful obedience to God’s global mandate. … With William Carey’s  admonition in mind, I will ask you to lower me down into the goldmine of souls. Some of you will go with me as global Kingdom workers; others will stand on the ridge and hold the ropes while you lower us down. You and I are ‘sent ones’  called to live and thrive on mission today.” -David Joannes, “The Mind of a  Missionary”

Moving Forward in Faith

There is much at stake to have a theology steeped only in the mind, devoid of faith for miracles. In unreached people groups, wonders can lead to belief. Now is the time, run with freedom into the plans and purposes of Jesus! No limitations; no stronghold of intellectualism devoid of power; only zeal for the love of Jesus to be unleashed all over the world. You are called and sent for this purpose. Now go and make Him known in every way!