1. Go. These are the first
letters of the "gospel." It was one
of Jesus' favorite words.
- He told the missionaries
in Matthew 10 to GO to the lost sheep of Israel.
- He told John's disciples
to GO and tell John what they had heard and seen.
- He told the demoniac
to GO home and tell his friends what Christ had
done.
- He told the seventy
in Luke 10 to GO as lambs among wolves.
- He told the wedding
servants to GO into the highways and byways, inviting
others to the banquet.
- He told those at the
tomb to GO with the news.
- He tells us to GO into
all the world.
Where does Christ want you to
go with the gospel? Where does He want me to go?
2. Stand. This is a favorite
New Testament word, occurring 47 times. We're
to stand firm in the faith, to stand against the
schemes
of the devil, to stand
fast in the liberty with which Christ has set
us free, to stand girded with truth, to stand
fast in one spirit -- and
having done all, to stand.
The angel meant: "Plant your feet, your shoulders
back, your head high, your jaw set. Don't be
intimidated, but take a stand."
3. Speak. We live amid unprecedented
communications technology, but the most effective
way of spreading the gospel is still one
teenager sharing with
another, one homemaker with another, one golfing
partner telling another about Christ. Have you
shared
your message with anyone
recently?
The Indian Christian, Sundar
Singh (pronounced Sing), served the Lord in the
ancient land of Tibet. On one occasion, by order
of the chief of the village, he was thrown into
a dry well, the lid of which was securely locked.
His crime? Preaching the gospel in the marketplace.
He was left in the well to die like others before
him, whose bones and rotting flesh lay nearby.
On the third night, when
he had been crying to God in prayer, he heard
someone unlocking the lid of the well and removing
the cover. A voice spoke and told him to take
hold of the rope being lowered. He found a loop
at the bottom in which he could place his foot,
and he was lifted up. The lid was replaced and
locked. When he looked around him to thank his
rescuer, he could find no trace of anyone.
The fresh air revived him,
and when morning came he returned to the city
and began preaching again. News reached the chief
that the man who had been thrown in the well for
preaching was free and back to his evangelistic
activity. Singh was hauled before the chief and
questioned.
The chief declared that
someone must have gotten the key and let him out.
But when the search was made the key was found
attached to the chief's own belt. Villagers afterward
assumed that their evangelist had been delivered
by an angel, perhaps the one that delivered the
apostles in Acts 5.
