Since 63 BC Israel had been suffering under Roman annexation. Nearly a hundred years had passed when John the Baptist began preaching repentance and proclaiming the coming of Messiah. Now Jesus, filled with the Holy Ghost, sends forth the twelve to proclaim to all Israel the long awaited coming of the Kingdom of God. He empowered his disciples to go forth and demonstrate his authority and proclaim the coming hour of Israel's redemption. Their message was neither for the Gentiles nor the Samaritans but for the House of Israel.
"Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money."
All who believe in Christ are called to proclaim the coming Kingdom. Of all things that we are to live, preach and teach, this is the most significant: to remind all men that there is coming a day when "the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. (Isaiah 40:5) Just as Israel waited in bondage for their promised Messiah, so too does the Church today await the return of Christ. And, like the disciples, we have been empowered with the Holy Spirit and sent forth to preach that the Kingdom of God is at hand! And what is this Kingdom which we are to proclaim? It is the rule and reign of God over the hearts of men.
When Jesus redeemed mankind back to God, He sealed for all eternity this great truth: "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." (1 Tim.2:5)
Unlike the twelve that day, we the Church have been sent, not just to the lost sheep of Israel, but to all men. We are sent forth with the Good News of the Kingdom. We are messengers of a new covenant that God has made with all who believe; sent forth into the world to proclaim the acceptable day of the Lord, and that, in Christ, all men are made equal. There is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female. All are one in Christ. He has broken down the middle wall of separation that stood between all of us through sin and the selfish nature of the fallen heart. He has given us permission to enter in now and to become ambassadors of this Kingdom unto all those we meet. We the Church are called to be the voice of God to a lost and dying world.
But we must remember that, like Christ, our Kingdom is not of this world. We seek another country wherein dwelleth righteousness. We are strangers and pilgrims . . . sojourners in a strange land; a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation . . . those which in time past were not a people but now are the people of God. (1 Pete. 2:9-11)
Our vision is not for this world but for the coming world where we shall live together in peace and safety when all sorrow and mourning shall flee away. The place where we shall dwell in the presence of the Lamb of God and all the host of heaven, where "the wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD." (Isa. 65:25)
A time is coming when the devil and his followers, as well as death and hell itself, will have been cast into the lake of fire, their voices no more to be heard forever. Truly the Christian retirement plan is worthy of our full commitment.
We have the greatest message the world has ever heard. 'God loves you. God will forgive you no matter what you have done. God has made a way for you to live with Him in eternity. God has given you his Word so that you can know how you are to live in this world until he takes you home to heaven. In fact, I have heard some say that the word Bible is an acronym for “Believers Instructions Before Leaving Earth.”
But who do we mean when we say God? The only true God who created all things. The One who says plainly, "For all the God's of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens." (Ps. 96:5)
He is the God of the Bible, your Heavenly Father. He knows who He is and He reveals himself very clearly in the Holy Scriptures of the Word of God. There should be no question about that. He will not share his glory with another, nor will he hold him guiltless who tries to come by another way.
Jesus said clearly, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6) "This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:11,12)
Our preaching is not just sermons given from a pulpit or stage. We preach wherever we are by the way we live and the love we give to those around us. We are the only Bible that some people will ever read. Such a great calling as this deserves our utmost attention and dedication. Wherever we are, and whatever we are doing, we must do our best to allow Christ to be seen in us.
We represent the King of the Universe who has entrusted us with “exceeding great and precious promises” to share with our fellow man. We are to tell them what God has done through the life, death and resurrection of his precious Son, and all that God has awaiting those who will come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ.
And what a great privilege it is that the Son of God has called us to speak on his behalf. We need only open our mouths in his name and out of our bellies shall come forth rivers of living water. The very creation itself is awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God to free it from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. (Romans 8:19-22)
Let us shout from the housetops to all who will listen: JESUS IS LORD! He overcame death, hell and the grave and now sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us that we will go forth with the message of Salvation through faith in Christ, and bring in all who have believed and trusted in his sacrificial death on the cross to save us.
“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Mat 24:30-31)
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Mat 24:36 -39)