The Heartbeat Of God

And the early church responded. . . . As a result of the boldness of their public stand for Christ, three thousand were baptized in Jerusalem. When the church was scattered as a result of persecution, Luke tells us that they “went everywhere preaching the word.” Philip jumped into a chariot with a high official from Africa and shared with him the good news of Jesus. Peter takes the gospel outside the confines of his own group, the Jewish people, enters into a Gentile home and preaches the good news about Jesus. And when the Lord got hold of Paul, there was no stopping him. He took the gospel and preached it to all the major cities and provinces of the ancient world, including the center of the empire, Rome itself.

VI. THE MODERN CHURCH

But somewhere along the line of history, we lost track of our purpose. Like Israel,

we were blessed,

we became prosperous,

we settled in,

we huddled up,

we slowed down,

we took it easy,

we got comfortable.

We became more concerned with saving face, than saving souls. We became organized, systematized, anesthetized, domesticated. That impulsive eruption of missionary zeal no longer characterizes our churches.

It is a rare occasion when Christians ponder the missionary task, let alone engage themselves in it. Our missionaries are out of sight and out of mind. We are more concerned today with whether or not someone remembered to turn up the thermostat, than we are with the people who will burn in the eternal fires. We are more concerned with providing funds for the new parking lot, than we are about whether or not our missionary programs are adequately financed. We attend self-help seminars to build up our self-confidence and self-esteem and fill our self-centered and self-seeking needs.

But the yearning of God continues. The heart of God continues to beat for the nations. His vision has not diminished. He has not relinquished His purpose. He is still saying to you and to me: “Go, get up, get out, get going.!”

And He has given us a promise:

“I will be with you, always, EVEN to the end of the world.”

“I will be with you, ALWAYS, even to the end of the world.”

“I will be with YOU, always, even to the end of the world.”

“I WILL be with you, always, even to the end of the world.”

To the church that commits itself to missions He says: “I will be with you.”

To the church that determines to get in tune with the heartbeat of God, He says: “I will be with you. You will experience My presence in power and in reality.”

To the church that puts its missionary budget before all other needs, He says: “I will be with you . . .”

To the Christian who gives eagerly and faithfully to the missionary program, He says, “I will be with you.”

To those who pray fervently and faithfully for their missionaries, He says: “I will be with you.”

To the parents that teach their children to pray for their missionaries, He says: “I will be with you.”

To those who go, He says, “I will be with you.”

We find a clear expression of the yearning of God in Revelation 7:9-10.

"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ’Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’"