It is no secret, friends that we have a work to do. It has been stated and restated in our Regional Conventions that we are operating under the mandate of the Great Commission given by Christ in Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15. More recently, in our recent General Assembly it was stated multiple times that Jesus Christ was the light of the world while He was here, but now that He is at the right hand of the Father, He has left the church to be that light. Certainly, the scripture bears this out, as in the following verses:
John 9:5 "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
Matthew 5:14 "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." In considering the two verses, it cannot be doubted what Jesus meant. He would be going back to the Father and His disciples- His church was to be the light in His stead. Now let us read the scriptures which follow.Matthew 5:15-16 "Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven."We can see from this that it is our duty as Jesus' disciples to let our lights shine to the Glory of God! There can be no doubt that the church is here to be a light to the world, but not for our own glory. It is for God's glory that we must shine this light that is within us. After all had He not first shone this light in our hearts, we would have no light to shine. We have learned from the writings of James that we show our faith (in God) by our works. Jesus said our Good works would glorify the Father before all men. It is safe to say that we have work to do!In the passage from John 4 surrounding our theme scripture the disciples returned from a trip to town to buy meat (see verse 8) and found Jesus witnessing to a woman of Samaria. They didn't understand why the Master would even be there talking to this unclean woman. When she left to go and get her friends to come and meet Jesus, the disciples bid Him to eat. Jesus told them in verse 32 "...I have meat to eat that ye know not of." The men questioned whether someone else had brought Jesus something to eat. Their minds were not tuned in to the spiritual, but the natural. (A lesson for us? YES). Then Jesus answered..."...My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." What a message! What a thought for us today. Adam Clarke said this about the Jesus' statement, "Let the salvation of souls lie nearer your heart than life itself. Let eating and drinking, labour and rest, reading, thinking, study, prayer, and all things, be directed to the accomplishment of this great work. Minister’s of Jesus! imitate your LORD!" Amen and AMEN!According to Jesus' words in John 20:21 we are sent now to do that same work.
John 20:21 Jesus said unto them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you."
Friends, we are sent by Jesus! That same meat that He partook of is our meat today! It is Spiritually nourishing for you and I as members in particular of His church to do the work that He has sent us to do. When we preach, teach, sing, and witness of His goodness and to His glory it feeds and nourishes our spirit like a good meal feeds and nourishes our natural bodies. We do this ALL by His grace and for His Glory!
There are souls dying daily without Christ.
People are hurting and in despair thinking there is no hope.
Many are desperately looking for someone to love them.
We are sent to be the light. We have been given this work to do, the Bible as our source of instruction, and the Holy Ghost to fill us with the power.
Let's get in the field...Let's do something for God...LET'S WORK!!
Until next time,
Donald R. Estep II
Michigan, Kentucky, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, & Wisconsin
Regional Overseer
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