Imagine you hear the doorbell ring one day. To your utter shock, an emissary of some wealthy prince is at the door.
“His Majesty would like you to attend his wedding to the princess of his dreams. Your needed wardrobe, travel, and accommodation expenses will be all covered.”
But the prince also asks a favor. Would you invite as many family and friends to come along with you? Of course, their expenses will be covered, too.
Now let me fill in a few pertinent details. The palace is in heaven. The prince is Jesus. The emissary is the Holy Spirit. The reason He asked you was because you had asked Jesus to be your Savior. Now He’d like you to spread the news that Heaven’s door is wide open and all are welcome to come. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
What should motivate us to do this? Here are a few reasons:
1. Simple OBEDIENCE. “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.’” (Mark 16:15) That ought to be enough. But is the Great Commission the great omission in your life?
2. LOVING OTHERS. “The love of Christ compels us.” (2 Corinthians 5:15) This is the love and logic of Calvary. If Jesus loved people enough to die for them, do I love Him enough to tell them?
3. THANKFULNESS. Hannah said that God’s goodness had enlarged her mouth (1 Samuel 2:1) so that she must speak of Him. “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy.” (Psalm 107:2)
4. The HONOR of REPRESENTING CHRIST. “As though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20) Ambassadors shouldn’t get involved in local politics. We speak for the King. When Pat Robertson ran for the presidency of the US in 1988, National Review headlined that issue: “Pat Robertson Seeks Lower Office.” They knew that was a step down from preaching the Word.
5. COMPASSION. “Jesus…saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.” (Mark 6:34) All around us are broken hearts. Does their need move us? Must our own friends and associates say, “No man cared for my soul”? (Psalm 142:4)
6. The UNCERTAINTY of DEATH. Richard Baxter said, “I preach as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men.” I have my own time limit, and others around me are on eternity’s brink. There’s no time to waste.
On Sunday, Oct 8, 1871, as D.L. Moody came to the end of his sermon, he encouraged his audience to go home and think about what he had said. But the city fire bells were already ringing for the Great Chicago Fire. Many of his audience died in the conflagration. “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” (Proverbs 27:1)
If “now is the accepted time…now is the day of salvation,” (2 Corinthians 6:2) what day should we tell them that today is the day? Tomorrow? I hardly think so.
Someone is waiting for you to tell them the Good News!
Article by Jabe Nicholson first published in the Commercial Dispatch, Saturday, August 10, 2024.