“Therefore You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.” 2 Samuel 7:22 (ESV)
King David here has just heard from God that his throne will be established for all future generations and lead to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. David, though considered even today one of the greatest kings of all time, regarded himself of lowly origin as the youngest of his father’s sons and “just a shepherd boy” (considered by some nations at that time the lowest occupation). However, God had chosen David to lead the nation of Israel and to be the earthly bloodline through which our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ would arise. David heard these words from God and had heard the promises of the Messiah passed down from the spiritual elders of past generations. There is truly none like God so faithful to keep their promises, so pure and righteous in character, so full of grace and mercy for those of us who do not deserve it. May we join in David’s praise of our Lord today that there is none like Him, and worthy is He to be praised!
“From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!” Psalms 113:3 (ESV)
Not just on Sunday morning. Not just when speaking with your “Christian friends”. Not only when things go “right” or the way you want them to in life. “From the rising of the sun to its setting” — or, at all times and in all things — “the name of the Lord is to be praised!” “He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”” (Luke 19:40 ESV) We should not wait for the stones to cry out; rather, we should busy ourselves with shouting the praises of our Lord and Creator from sunrise to sunset each and every day!
Jessica Ford Communications Director Alive Ministries USA
“Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wondrous works!” Psalms 105:1-2 (ESV)
How do people know about Jesus unless we preach His Gospel? Some people say that they are not called to preach, and while they may not be called to be a pastor, the fact is all are called to preach and to make disciples of Christ. The Great Commission given by our Lord and Savior is found in Matthew 28:19-20 and says: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
We do not have to go and preach the Gospel and make disciples in our own power, nor should we, but we do have to obey this Great Calling that we are all called to. Fortunately, the preceding verse assures us that we do not have to do this of ourselves. “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18) Because all authority in Heaven and earth is given to Yeshua the Messiah, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we can bodly “Go therefore into all the world preaching the Gospel” because we go in the power and authority which Christ has, and that He has commissioned us with to carry out the work of preaching the Gospel.
How can people know Jesus if they do not hear the Word preached? The book of Romans assures us that we must preach or people will not hear the Gospel. “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:14)
Today’s verse reminds us that we are to “give thanks to the Lord; call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wondrous works!” The work of preaching is not all done from behind a pulpit as we have been conditioned to believe. The work of preaching is done in our praise of God, our proclamation of His deeds and wonderous works, even in our thanks to Him. The Gospel is preached far more by how we live, act, and in what we say in the presence of others than it is from the pulpits. We have been conditioned (by design of our adversary, in my opinion) to believe that being effective means title, authority, and numbers. Nothing could be further from the truth. It has always been my belief that with modern technology we could see revival sweep the world in less than a week, and probably in one day if the body of Christ actually engaged in the fight and lived as Christ lived. Even Jesus said we would do greater things than He did. “”Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12)
How is that possible? How can we do greater works than Jesus did? It is possible when we surrender our body to THE body of Christ and become the hands, feet, and mouth of God. Rather than allowing the sinful and lost world to define what it means to be a Christian, why do we not allow the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to define what it means to be a Christian. You do not take years to pull someone from a burning building — you yank them from the flames! Why then do we allow fear and intimidation to rule the day and keep us thinking that we have to just keep living in secret as if somehow our neighbors will get the Gospel through osmosis? People will never just absorb the Gospel you hide in your heart, but they will hear the Gospel you boldly proclaim, and they will see the Gospel that you unapologetically live out.
We have to realize that if we love JESUS we must obey Him. If we say we love people, how can we be silent? We need not believe that we have to be an eloquent speaker to be effective;Moses was not and he even tried to argue that point with the very God who chose him! God chose you too! Just like Moses we are called to lead people out of bondage and slavery to sin by preaching the Gospel. Do you not believe that the God who spoke through Moses and parted the Red Sea, stabilizing water into two walls and forming dry ground so that the nation of Isreal might pass through the Red Sea, is capable of speaking through you and stabilizing your shaking voice and knees? God will hold you up! It will be Him that speaks in you and through you, you just have to let Him. The good news is that it gets easier as you obey, and it is His power that sustains you, not your own.
Who needs prayer today? Who needs the Gospel? Who is that person whose life is in flames and needs to be snatched out of the fire today? Who will do it if not you?
Father, I praise Your MIGHTY name. Lord, empower us to preach the Gospel today. Show us who needs You right now. Show us the approach to take and the words to say to connect with them. Empower us to proclaim the Gospel, to speak of your GREAT and wonderous works and to lift up the precious name of Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah, wherever we go. Bless all who read, hear, and share these posts. Bless all who labor for this ministry and those who support us in prayer. In Jesus’ MIGHTY name I pray, Amen!
Blessings in Christ, Rev. Christopher B. Cain Minister of Evangelism and Discipleship Alive Ministries USA
