“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.” [1]
Cities dye their rivers green in his honour; political dignitaries and athletes march in parades named for him and people drink beer dyed green in honour of him. Around the world, countries celebrate this day set aside in his name. All this in honor of a man whose real story few people actually know. As a Christian, you should know his story.
Imagine that you were credited with 120,000 conversions and the planting of three hundred churches. How would you begin your memoirs? Here’s how Patrick began his memoir: “I Patrick, a sinner, the rudest and the least of all the faithful, and an object of the greatest contempt to many…” In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I commend a reading of his “Confession.” [2] Anyone doing so will undoubtedly be astounded by what they find, especially will you be astounded by his genuine humility as an instrument of God’s grace.
Patrick died on March 17, around the year AD 461. Here is a brief summary of the remarkable story his “Confession” tells. He was born in Britain, but he was kidnapped when he was fifteen years old and sold as a slave in Ireland. For six years, he served as a shepherd before he was able to escape and returned home to his family.
When Patrick was around forty years old, he had a dream, much like Paul's Macedonian vision recorded in ACTS 16. He wrote, “There I saw in a vision of the night a man whose name was Victoricus, coming as if from Ireland with innumerable letters, one of which he handed to me.” [3] Just then, he heard the voice of a multitude “as if with one voice, ‘We entreat thee, holy youth, to come and walk still among us.’” [4]
Responding to this vision, Patrick returned to the land where he had been enslaved, this time going to Ireland as a Christian missionary. Frequently risking his life, he spent the next thirty years seeking to lead the Irish to Jesus. As one historian put it, Patrick “found Ireland all heathen and left it all Christian.” [5]
There is an important addendum to the story. In the next century, Irish Christians who were spiritual descendants of Patrick's ministry sailed back to Britain, where they evangelised the heathen who had overrun the country. They established monasteries and copied books being destroyed elsewhere. According to Thomas Cahill's “How the Irish Saved Civilization,” these godly men “single-handedly re-founded European civilization throughout the continent.” [6]
You could make a pretty strong argument that St. Patrick deserves to be on everyone's top-ten list of all-time most influential Christians; but you'd have a hard time getting Patrick to agree. Patrick closed his memoirs by explaining the secret to his history-changing ministry: “Do you judge, and let it be most firmly believed, that it was the gift of God. And this is my Confession, before I shall die.” [7]
CHRIST’S LAST COMMAND — You will not have attended a Baptist church for very long until you hear about “the Great Commission.” This is the final charge Jesus gave to His people before He ascended into the heavens. The best-known iteration of that commission is found as the concluding words of the first Gospel. “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” [MATTHEW 28:19-20].
I sometimes wonder if we haven’t focused on the promises the Saviour provided His people rather than recognising the commission He issued. Indeed, the Risen Son of God is with us, and shall be with us to the end of the age. We are not alone. He promised, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live” [JOHN 14:18-19]. Undoubtedly, these are precious and comforting promises.
Nevertheless, we who follow the Christ did receive a charge, a charge that is iterated throughout the Gospels. In the parable of the ten minas, Jesus portrays the nobleman as giving his servants a specific command, “Engage in business until I come” [see LUKE 19:13]. So, it should not be a great surprise that the Saviour expects His people to be busily engaged in His work until He comes.
Of course, the Saviour clarified this charge by issuing a command for all who would follow Him. Doctor Luke states that Jesus’ final word before He ascended into the heavens was, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” [ACTS 1:8]. The Spirit of God has been given, and all who have the Spirit are appointed to be witnesses.
When the Living Saviour appeared to His disciples, Doctor Luke provided us with a transcript of His charge. Jesus enabled them to understand the Scriptures before He charged them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things” [LUKE 24:46-48].
Mark has provided us with Peter’s account of the ministry of Jesus. Drawing this particular account to a conclusion, Mark writes that Jesus charged His disciples, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” [MARK 16:15-16].
John wrote many years after the other Gospels had been written. There was not the same urgency to provide a more pointed transcript of Jesus’ charge to disciples. However, he did provide us with the commission in a pointed form, noting that the Master charged His disciples, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” [JOHN 20:21].
Christians are sent on mission. The Risen Son of God has issued a command that has never been rescinded, and we are responsible to do what He has commanded if we call Him Master! Above all else, we are to make disciples.
Every church should have people preparing for mission with God. I don’t say that every church must have foreign missionaries, but every church must have a vision for the lost world. There is need for people sent by the Living God to go to remote communities to bring the message of Christ to those communities. Within a brief driving distance of our own meetings are peoples who have never heard the message of life. There are native reserves that have scant witness of the grace of God. We are responsible to carry this message to those reserves.
Let me tell you of an unusual ministry that God dropped into my lap one year. That fall, I was hunting with a fellow pastor in the far northern reaches of our province. The nearest community was well over three hours away. We had driven trikes, the old Honda three-wheelers marketed as “Big Red,” into the mountains for an extended grizzly hunt. Over one hundred kilometers from the end of the road, we unexpectedly came upon a hunting lodge located in the bush. It wasn’t the peak of the season for the couple running the lodge; in fact, there were no hunters booked at that time. We did eat a meal at the lodge on Friday afternoon. During the course of the meal, we told the couple that we were Baptist preachers enjoying a break from our churches on a hunting holiday. At this, the couple asked if we would conduct a worship service on Sunday. They would circulate throughout the mountains, informing people that there would be a church service if we would agree to conduct the service. Of course, we agreed to do this.
On Sunday, we rode into the valley from our camp situated higher up in the mountains. As we neared the lodge, crossing the swift flowing creek at the edge of the encampment, we noted a surprising number of bikes, trikes and horses around the lodge. When we entered the large dining hall, we discovered nearly thirty people gathered and waiting for a church service. Another Baptist preacher had been discovered in the mountains, and the three of us presented a service of worship. We sang hymns that were sufficiently well-known to permit us to sing from memory, read the Scriptures, prayed and presented a message from the Word. What was especially gratifying were the responses of those present that day for the service.
The couple who ran the lodge had cooked a large meal for all that had come into their valley for the service, and everyone stayed to partake of the meal. As we conversed with several of the hunters, we heard a rather common theme as one-after-another told us that they were not regular in worship in the communities represented (both from Canada and the United States). However, each spoke of how touched they were at worship in the mountains; they were moved by how meaningful it was to worship the Risen Saviour there. I don’t know that anyone professed Christ as a result of the service that day, but we did plant the good seed in hearts and several stated that they would be attending a service of worship as soon as they got home.
My purpose in relating that story is to encourage our people to realise that there are people who will receive the message of life—if we will carry the message to them! Peter admonishes all who name the Name of Christ, “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience” [1 PETER 3:15-16a]. God has preceded us wherever we may go with the message of life in the Risen Saviour. We can be assured that there are people prepared long before we arrive at the place God would send us.
The particular Sunday I just described appeared to be a case of serendipity; however, I cannot help but believe that though it appeared to be spontaneous, the Lord God had arranged for us to be in that place that day precisely so we could deliver the message of life. What would happen if we followers of the Master were to become deliberate in carrying the message of life into small communities about us, telling outsiders of the Faith of Christ the Lord and encouraging believers who have chosen to live in these out-of-the-way places?
This past fall, I enjoyed lunch with a friend who was travelling through our community as he travelled back to Alaska. He conducts a ministry identified as Remote Alaska Missions. He carries the message of Christ into remote native villages, many of which are accessible only by river or by air. When we met, he was returning after picking up a young man in the States. That young man had committed himself to going into the same remote area to open yet more native villages to hear the message of life.
The same thing could be done here with those whom God is raising up from within our own congregation. What would happen if a team of young men and women were to go from our assembly each week to minister where there is no congregation? That team could provide music and carry the message of the Saviour to communities that might otherwise have no message? Perhaps you are fearful that we would lose attendance, but I am convinced that we would gain so much more. Those serving would honour the Saviour and He would send still others to be equipped to serve in the same manner as the outreach grows.
Allow me to tell you of something that has challenged me, stirring my heart for some years now. As I drive through our community, I see invisible people. I don’t mean that I am gifted with some sort of x-ray vision, I mean that there are people in our community that are present, though they really don’t have much to contribute to the community. I suppose many people see them as bummy old bums, stinky old drunks, undesirable people who wouldn’t fit in at church. Church is where the nice people go, where the really important people are found. These invisible people are the outcasts of society.
These individuals may be seen as objects to be used by others claiming to be “woke” just so they can advance their own cause, but Christ saw the outcasts of society as people of such worth that He was willing to give His life because of them. What stirs my heart is the knowledge that Christ died for these people as surely as He died for us. I cannot help but wonder what would happen if a group of our youth were to purchase a dozen or so pizzas and go downtown to give out slices of warm pizzas and hot chocolate or hot coffee to street people, telling them of Christ who offers life? Our Lord testified, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” [LUKE 19:10]. Patrick went to rude pagans, people who enslaved others, a culture that was degraded and degrading. Surely, we can carry the message to people that don’t threaten us, though they are clearly broken and fallen into the dustbin of humanity.
One of my uncles served as a United States Marine in the south Pacific during the Second World War. At one point, Les was on one of the islands of the Pacific. In one native village, he saw an unusually large pot. Speaking to one of the inhabitants of the village, he asked the reason for such a massive pot. The man responded, “It is for cooking people.” The islanders had been cannibals; but they were transformed when Methodist missionaries had come to those islands many years before with the message of Christ the Lord. Someone cared enough to go a people who were degraded and degrading. These were not large populations, but they were people. The message of Christ transformed those native populations. The majority of the people had become practising Christians, their lives reflecting the transformation that accompanies salvation.
I wonder if we who confess Christ as Master have ceased seeing with the eyes of Christ. I am tragically aware that on far too many occasions I fail to see as the Master sees. I fear that I miss the majesty of what He would have me do if I was but more alert, more prescient, more perspicacious. I often pray that He will open my eyes, allowing me to witness those about me as He sees. I know that when He answers that prayer, I will not be the same as before. I suspect that most of us, perhaps all of us who follow the Saviour, would have a similar testimony of failure to see with the eyes of Christ.
Patrick had no vision for Ireland when he was taken captive by the wild Hibernians and forced into slavery. It is not evident that he was even forming a godly vision for the island throughout the days of his captivity. Nevertheless, God was working during those dark days when he questioned whether he would ever see his homeland again. God is always at work in the lives of those whom He calls. Joseph’s brothers were fearful after Jacob died. They feared that Joseph would now exact vengeance for the evil they had perpetuated when they sold him into slavery. However, Joseph had a different view of things. He eased their mind when he said, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” [GENESIS 50:19-21].
Right now, you may not have a vision for the peoples of our nation who are outside the mainstream of the Faith. Those invisible people living on the streets of our villages, towns and cities are not often seen as people who are begging for the message of grace. However, God may be working in the life of someone listening to this message even now, preparing that individual to be uniquely used to bring many souls to righteousness to the praise of His glory.
The natives who are living on reserves throughout our province, and especially here in the north, are not pleading for the message of life, though many are crying out for justice, feeling as though they are excluded from the wealth of the nation and feeling as though they have no voice in the centres of power. Perhaps God is preparing someone that is listening to become a voice for the voiceless, pointing people to the power of the Living God which is able to transform many lives for His glory.
Perhaps one hears my voice today who has received a vision of a man pleading for someone to come with the message of life that his people might live. The same God who called Patrick, the same God who called the Apostle Paul through a vision of a man of Macedonia, may well be calling someone today to carry the message of life to a distant land or even to a distant province. What I know for certain is that God still works powerfully through men and women who are yielded to Him. He is still raising up servants who glorify His Name through Christ the Son of God.
ON MISSION WITH CHRIST — Though not every Christian will be a missionary, every Christian is expected to be on mission with God. When we Evangelical Christians think of missionaries, we think in terms of travelling to distant lands or labouring in exotic places. I would not want anyone to think that I am depreciating travelling to distant or remote locales in order to declare the message of life that is offered through Christ the Lord—I am not; I do mean to emphasise the fact that we who follow the Saviour are on mission with Him! If you are a follower of the Christ, you are on mission with the Son of God! We who follow the Saviour will see where He is working, and we will work with Him in that place.
I’m not suggesting that the work we offer will be perfect—we are not yet perfected! However, we will work in the Master’s place as we comfort the broken-hearted, as we testify to His grace and speak of His power to save. As we serve within the brotherhood of believers employing the gifts that the Master has entrusted to us, we will be working in the Saviour’s place. Our hands will be employed as though they were the hands of Christ. Our eyes will see as though they were the eyes of Christ. Our ears will hear what only the ears of Christ are able to hear. Our feet will carry us to the places that the feet of Christ would carry Him. We are the body of Christ, and He is the head. His divine work is now our work; and as we work, we fulfil the appointment of our glorious Head.
Each Christian is called to walk with the Saviour, and wherever the Lord may be found, His work is to be carried out through His disciples. Patrick was called to return to Ireland, and as a follower of the Risen Son of God, he obeyed. It is difficult to see that his call was anything less than divine appointment through a vision sent by God. I am not saying that you will have a vision designating where you are to work, but I am confident of this—because you are a follower of the Risen Saviour, you will be appointed to work in the place of His choosing.
Perhaps some of us will be called to foreign lands, or perhaps some who serve among us will be appointed to serve in distant locations within our own nation—each follower of the Master is called to service with the Son of God. Because this is true, each home must become a site for witnessing, each workbench must become a pulpit, each follower of the Master must recognise that she or he is always on mission with the Son of God. Knowing that we are “working together with Him” [see 2 CORINTHIANS 6:1a], we are expected to find that place where we may contribute the gifts and abilities He has entrusted to our oversight.
That a Christian will always be engaged in the work of Christ is expected in the normal course of events. This doesn’t mean that we who are disciples of the Master are simply busy; rather, it means that we realise that we are always on call. People sometimes may ask the follower of the Saviour, “What do you do?” Of course, they are expecting an answer that addresses the matter of one’s occupation. However, the answer of each child of God should be, “I am a Christian!” Of course, such an answer will almost always elicit the response, “I mean, what is your job?” The appropriate response of the follower of the Christ must be, “I serve Christ the Lord. I support myself by…” You can fill in the work that you do to provide for your family and for your normal expenses. Paul was a tentmaker. Peter, James and John were fishermen. Nevertheless, first and foremost, these men were followers of the Risen Son of God.
What a disappointment some professed followers of the Saviour were to Paul. Timothy was not among those who disappointed him. Do you recall when he wrote the congregation in Philippi, urging them to receive Timothy when he came? “I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be encouraged by hearing news about you. For there is no one here like him who will readily demonstrate his deep concern for you. Others are busy with their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ” [PHILIPPIANS 2:19-21 NET BIBLE].
Just as there were some in that ancient day who were “busy with their own concerns,” so we witness too many among contemporary churches who are “busy with their own concerns.” Brothers and sisters, it is far too easy to become consumed with our own interests to the neglect of the work of Christ. Consequently, we grow progressively more insensible to the call of the Spirit of Christ to labour together with Him when we focus on our own concerns to the exclusion of the work of Christ. The command we have received is recorded in Paul’s First Letter to the Christians of Corinth. “My beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” [1 CORINTHIANS 15:58].
This is a vital issue for any individual who wishes to honour the Son of God. Christ the Lord expects that His followers will do what He calls them to do. You may recall that Jesus provided a parable in order to instruct His followers in this matter. “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come’” [LUKE 19:12-13]. We recognise that in this parable, Jesus is detailing His expectation for those who identify as His servants. Clearly, the Master anticipates that His servants will be engaged in His work until He comes. Since the Master has not returned at this date, it seems appropriate to expect that all who are called by His Name will be busily engaged in the work of the Kingdom of God!
The Master continued His parable by looking forward to the time that the nobleman at last returned. “When [the nobleman] returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” [LUKE 19:15-26].
The parable obviously points forward to the Lord’s return. What I would have us see for the purpose of this message is the expectation that those identified as servants of the Master are expected to be engaged in His business. Is that not evident from the command issued in the THIRTEENTH VERSE, “Engage in business until I come?” I won’t quibble that some may argue that we are responsible to invest what He has entrusted to us, or even that we will differ in our effective employment of what we have received; I will, however, emphasise that the Master expects that each of His servants is expected to be involved in His business—and His business is preaching the Good News of the Kingdom! Seize upon that point!
The hallmark of Jesus’ ministry was proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. One day, early in His ministry, Jesus was present in the synagogue in Nazareth, and this is what happened. “He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’
“And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’” [LUKE 4:16-21].
On another occasion, Jesus sought out a desolate place to avoid the crowds. The crowds desperately sought Him, and when they found Him, He declared, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose” [LUKE 4:43]. Throughout the days of His ministry in Judea, the Saviour was busy “proclaiming and delivering the good news of the Kingdom of God” [see LUKE 8:1].
On one occasion after being ridiculed by the Pharisees, Jesus responded to their taunts, “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it” [LUKE 16:16]. What was begun in that far distant day has continued until this day. The Good News of the Kingdom of God has been preached since that day; and it continues to be declared in this day.
When John dispatched some of his own disciples to verify Jesus as the Messiah, the following exchange took place. “When John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them’” [MATTHEW 11:2-5]. The miracles were impressive, but the evidence of Jesus as Messiah was that the poor have Good News preached to them! What was begun then has continued to this day and is being fulfilled even now.
What was Jesus’ final charge to those who would follow Him? “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” [MATTHEW 28:19-20]. Make disciples is synonymous with proclaiming the Kingdom of God. Do we actually need a vision before we begin to engage in the Master’s business? Is it not evident that He expects that anyone who follows Him will do the things that He did?
Scope in on the repeated emphasis on obedience, which obviously includes making disciples, proclaiming the Kingdom of God. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” [JOHN 14:15].
Do you wish to be known as a disciple of the Lord Jesus? Keep His commandment to make disciples and proclaim the Kingdom of God. “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” [JOHN 14:21].
“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me” [JOHN 14:23-24]. Well, that is plain enough!
Allow me to point to one final Scripture before moving on from this essential point. “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love” [JOHN 15:7-10].
I remind each one listening that as followers of the Son of God, we are in the business of doing the Master’s business. God is at work, and some are being called from this assembly to serve Him as He wills. Why would we not expect that God will call some of our own people to carry the message of life to new areas where Christ is not preached at this time. About us are multitudes that have never heard the message of life. It should be our goal as a congregation to see new churches started each year as those from our congregation venture out into communities about us. As individual followers of the Risen Son of God, we should each come into the House of God expecting to see the Spirit of the Living God at work, convicting the lost and drawing them to faith in the Risen Son of God.
OUR CALL TO SERVICE — I will conclude the message with the emphasis that each one who follows the Master is called to His holy service. Each Christian listening must always hold in his or her memory that this is the reason we are left here rather than being spirited away as soon as we are saved. On one occasion, Jesus said to those who followed Him, “If anyone wants to serve me, he must follow me, and where I am, my servant will be too. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him” [JOHN 12:26 NET BIBLE]. The Master clearly stated that the desire to serve Him as Saviour will be matched by obedience. Underscore the thought, fix it firmly in your mind: Christians do not serve the Saviour on our terms—we serve Him according to His terms!
Each follower of the Christ has been called to perform great deeds, for we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that [we] may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called [us] out of darkness into His marvellous light” [1 PETER 2:9]. Nowhere is there so much as a hint that we are appointed to occupy a pew, to live without open proclamation of Christ as Master over life. We are commanded to “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” [MATTHEW 5:16].
Surely, there can be no question concerning Jesus’ meaning in His instruction to disciples, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” [JOHN 15:8]. Our Risen Master anticipates that His people will bear fruit, and not a little bit of fruit, but great quantities of fruit! Christ expects fruitful followers.
We must be humbled by the Apostle’s prayer for the saints in Philippi, a prayer that is applicable to each follower of the Master to this day. “It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” [PHILIPPIANS 1:8b-11].
There is no question but that we who follow the Saviour are appointed to do great deeds. Our prayers should never be pedestrian, plebeian, proletarian. In our prayers, we should be always seeking great things to the praise of His glory! Each of us who follow the Master should now be asking Him to fulfil His Word to accomplish marvellous deeds through us. I urge each individual who follows the Lord to ask, “What great thing shall I seek? What great task shall I perform?” God is not looking for great things, He is seeking great disciples, for through them He will accomplish great and wonderful things as they work with Him.
I have always been stirred as Isaiah looks to God to accomplish mighty deeds. He wrote,
“Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains might quake at your presence—
as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
When you did awesome things that we did not look for,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.”
[ISAIAH 64:1-3]
This is a prayer for revival, a prayer for God to reveal His might. This is a prayer worthy of each follower of the Christ even in this day!
The promise of the Master that has been delivered to those who follow Him still remains, “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].
Take a moment to imagine what great thing God would do through you. Take a moment to dare ask Him, “What great thing will you do through me?” God seeks to use you for some great purpose. You have a far greater destiny than merely occupying a pew on a Sunday morning. The Living God wants to accomplish great things in your life and through your life.
It has been well said, “We don’t need anything new so much as we need something so old it would be new if anybody tried it.” God is not calling His people to do something new, something novel; God calls us to do those things that were given to the disciples at the first. Patrick understood the necessity of obeying the call of God to carry the Good News to all the world. Carrying that Good News means that we are sensitive to the direction of the Spirit of God directing our lives.
The story is told of a woman from the backwoods of the southern United States who was able to make a trip to Great Britain. As part of a tour group, she was passing through Westminster Cathedral. The tour guide spoke of those buried in this famous cathedral. Numerous politicians were named—Wilberforce, Neville Chamberlain and Clement Attlee. She spoke of Chaucer, interred there for over six hundred years. She spoke of scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton and Ernest Rutherford. She named the composer, Handel, and mentioned poets and writers such as Samuel Johnson, Alfred Tennyson and Kipling. When the old woman could contain herself no longer, she at last interrupted the spiel and startled the tour, shouting out, “Enough of that! Has anyone been saved here lately?”
That is the question, isn’t it! That is what we want to know. Has God been at work? Has God used us to accomplish some great thing of eternal worth? That is the question that needs to be asked of us each time we meet. That is the question that needs to be asked of us each time we speak with a neighbour, speak with a colleague, speak with a friend. Has anyone been saved lately? Patrick was sensitive to the Spirit of God and sought to accomplish great things in the Name of the Saviour. Who among us will make the same effort to do some great thing before it is too late?
It has been said that evangelicals are doctrinal exclusivists, but functional universalists. This statement suggests that though we say we believe in hell, our failure to evangelise the lost is just the sort of behavior one would expect from those who believed that all will work out well for non-believers. Lacking a sense of urgency to witness to the lost, we show ourselves skeptical of the Judgement. If we do not seek great things of God, if we do not tell lost people of Christ our Saviour so that they will turn to Him in faith, are we not denying that He is able to save? If we fail to turn the lost to life in the Son of God, are we not guilty of sending them to eternal judgement? Are we obedient to the call of Christ our Master? Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Saint Patrick, Thomas Olden (Trans.), The Confession of St. Patrick with an Introduction and Notes (James McGlashan; James Nisbet and Co., Dublin; London 1853) 43
[3] Patrick, op. cit., 57
[4] Ibid.
[5] Cited in Jim Denison, “The popular saint hardly anyone knows,” March 19, 2018, https://www.denisonforum.org/?utm_source=Cultural+Commentary&utm_campaign=43ff1692da-Jim%27s+Daily+Article+%281%2F12%2F18%29&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_51f776a552-43ff1692da-273271905&mc_cid=43ff1692da&mc_eid=68bbc7e894, accessed March 19, 2018
[6] Ibid.
[7] Patrick, op. cit. 78
