The words of our Lord, “Think not that I came to cast peace on the earth: I came not to cast peace, but a sword,” are a description of what happens when the gospel is preached—upset, conviction, concern, and confusion. ~Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to Him, for He is your life and length of days, ~ from Deuteronomy 30 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him. ~ Jesus, King of all creation, in John 14 Oh beloved. Some days are the fullest of moments. And in days like these, we feel and see and live and hurt and give and desire and hope… We, who are fully His, are learning to Love, and learning to boldly proclaim the mystery of the Gospel – even on a moment’s notice. This fool of a writer, is also a fool of a preacher. Currently, He has me – an American – posted on the island of Java, doing the work of teaching and preaching to many in Indonesia who simply do not want to listen to the very good news of Who Jesus Is. And while it is simply easy to fall into despair when sharing Life – and most continue to choose death – it is even easier to think that something is unique to our own situation. And this is wrong. The Gospel is astoundingly, profoundly, astonishingly simple.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep…. so we preach and so you believed.
~ from 1 Corinthians 15
Watchman Nee said it even more simply from prison (like Paul) at his death.
Christ is the Son of God. He died to atone for men’s sin, and after three days rose again. This is the most important fact in the universe. I die believing in Christ.
And as astoundingly simple as the message is, the working of the Message is the most complex and miraculous of things in the universe. Upon full acceptance and absolute surrender, a living, breathing body and soul, both dies and becomes fully alive as now-fully-animated body, soul, and spirit. And this new being (even new creation) in Him becomes a child and heir to all the inheritance inherent in being part of the Kingdom of G_d. Homo Sapiens becomes, in the Greek, Metachoi (a partaker) of the very riches of our Creator.
Yet, what is most astounding for those of us who have tasted and seen, is that most people do not even have the inclination to be intrigued by the news. We know in our very depths the truth of this very good news, and we willingly share it with anyone who will listen. We live amongst, we love, we give, we care, we teach, we share… And most walk away from the Light like it is a bothersome ray coming in through a crack in their curtain late in the afternoon.
And for such a conundrum, this fool has no answer. It is, though, a deep ache in the back of the mind and heart of a preacher to look out on a crowd while channeling His very truth to a group – to feel the very Spirit of G_d speaking through us – and yet to watch many heads begin to nod a couple of minutes into the moment. And it is in moments like this that a preacher knows he has absolutely no power; only good news to share, and a tragedy to watch unfold as souls yawn at the prospect of an eternity separate from the Love of G_d yawning broadly before them.
Oh beloved. Jesus Loves you. Yield to Him tonight.
No one survives the preaching of the Gospel. Either the hearer will die to self and come to rest on the Bedrock of true belief, or they will die alone in their sins. There is no escape.
