DEATH AND RESURRECTION
day five: the lord works with us
Mark 15: 15-20
15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
Pastoral Sharing
This is the unchanging commission that the Lord has given to the church, ” Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation”, because in addition to the Jews, who are the chosen people of God, the Lord has also predestined to save every tribe and every race throughout the world. The gospel is Jesus Christ – he is the Word became flesh, crucified, resurrected, ascended to heaven and now lives eternally!
The disciples had to preach the gospel to their own people the Israelites, and also to the Samaritans, with whom the Jews were not willing to associate. They also had to reach out to the pagans who worshipped idols. The disciples had to step out of their comfort zone, break through the deeply seeded traditional boundaries and challenge the many lies of religiosity!
Who has believed our message?
Isaiah 53:1
Just as the prophet Isaiah said, “Who has believed our message?” (Isaiah 53:1) the early church faced intense external opposition from three sources: the followers of Judaism, the Roman government as well as the pagan religions. Internally they were also threatened by three grave corruptions: world thoughts corroding the gospel, power struggles that destroy the church, and Satan’s attack on individual believers. However, whether it was the evangelists in Jerusalem, or the missionaries who went in among the Gentiles, the Lord worked with them. Giving them the authority to heal the sick and to drive out demons, these signs confirmed Jesus’ word that he is alive.
As the church continues to grow and mature, the miracles of healing and driving out demons are no longer common today. Nonetheless, the Lord Jesus is still working with all the laborers of the gospel. You and I are the miracles of this gospel. Our new lives in Christ are solid proofs that the gospel is true and has the power to save man from sin. Think about it, if every believer follows Jesus closely, hates sin, loves others, has clean hands and a pure heart, isn’t this more powerful that the miracles of healing and driving out demons? Even the devil can heal the sick, but it will never ask others to do good!
Have you neglected the power of the gospel, or have you been suppressing it? When the Lord healed you and drove darkness out of your life, you too have been made a great evangelist, because that is the manifestation of the power of the Lord working with you!
"Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:
He appeared in the flesh,
was vindicated by the Spirit
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory."
- 1 Timothy 3:16
O, God in heaven working with man on earth, how beautiful and amazing is the gospel being preached! Thank you Lord Jesus, for inviting me to participate in the kingdom’s work. I am willing to walk out of my comfort zone, to be an ambassador of the gospel and to serve the living Saviour. May the Lord help me and use me!
PERSONAL REFLECTION
CONFESSION AND DEDICATION