Friday, November 6
Finishing the Task
“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” -- Matthew 24:14
The church of Jesus Christ was commissioned by the Lord Himself at the close of each of the gospels, and in the first chapter of Acts, to evangelize the world. Historically, there have been periods of time where the evangelistic efforts were weak, sometimes to the point of being nearly nonexistent! The blessing – and exciting news – is that the return of the Lord Jesus Christ could be very near. While scholars and expositors debate the exact context of Matthew 24:14 as to whether it is a church age return, or that the task of world evangelization is finished after the church is raptured with others finishing the task, such as the two witnesses (Rev. 11:3-7) and the 144,00 (Rev. 7, 14), one thing is clear: the gospel will be preached throughout the whole world, to all nations (Grk. ethnos, people groups) before Jesus Christ returns.
In light of this, what is our part? In Second Peter 3:12, we read, “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God.” How can we hasten the Lord’s return? The Bible Knowledge Commentary says, “The godly lives of the Lord’s people, their praying, and their witnessing help bring others to repentance” will do this. Is your life hastening the Lord’s return, or hindering it? What we do today has eternal significance, either good if we are planting the seed of the gospel in lives, or for the bad if we are doing nothing for the Lord.
What are you doing on a daily basis to help finish the task of world evangelization?
Pray for a burden, and for opportunities, to hasten the Lord’s return.
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