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Jesus Commands Us to Go!
Written by:
Chad Taylor
In the days of Paul and Peter, ‘go ye into all the world’ was not an option
or a semi-retirement plan once their own pursuits were dried up, it was their
life, it was their passion. ‘To live was Christ and to die was gain.’ There
were few options at this level of commitment. It was all or nothing. They had
signed the dotted line of self-sacrifice and they understood there was no
turning back, they had placed their hand to the plough and they knew what it
meant to be ‘fit for the Kingdom of God.’ When they walked away from family
and career to follow the Nazarene, they knew that there was no turning back.
They had went through the veil of selfishness and entered the realm of
selflessness. They had put on Christ.
They were missionaries; they were ‘ambassadors of Christ.’ Sent ones,
apostles, disciples. They knew only two words, ‘Follow Me…’ Their creed
echoed the words of Christ, ‘…deny yourself, and take up your cross…’
There was no multiple choice, they had counted the cost and the conclusion was
simple, EVERYTHING. It was no longer ‘I’ that lived; it was only Christ,
‘and the life they now lived in the flesh they lived unto the Son of God that
had died for them.’ In their mortal bodies abided the Spirit that had raised
Him from the dead, they could not be stopped. ‘Persecuted, but not forsaken;
cast down, but not destroyed…’ The fire of their passion could not be
quenched; death would only stoke the flames of their Message. They could not be
bought, and when threatened, they prayed and the place where they stood was
shaken.
Today the level of commitment goes no further than the church doors. The cries
of salvation are rarely heard in the market places anymore. We have boxed it up
and packaged it in pretty paper, it has a ‘form of godliness but denies the
power’ from whence it came. Pentecost has become perfumed instead of seasoned
with fire. The Acts of the Apostles has been reassembled to appear to be a
performance rather than His power to save and set free from the grip of sin and
hell. The sinner continues on his perilous journey while the church has
prematurely abandoned the altars of repentance and salvation. We preach wealth
as the world dies in unparalleled poverty and misery. The world cries out for
Jesus as we busy ourselves with pleasure and selfish pursuits. The masses march
to the sound of church bells that never sound the alarm of death and hell.
My prayer is this, God give us a New Testament Church once again! A place where
the preacher cries for souls more than he pleads for money! Where the prophets
no longer ‘prophesy for hire’, but only desire to see His Bride rise in
awesome ‘signs and wonders’ to usher in this great harvest of souls! Remove,
if you must, this monopoly of ministries that hoard the wealth that You had
meant for missions. Take away the buildings that build their own Kingdoms and
ignore Yours. Tear down these lofty towers of pride that reach and reach and
never touch the streets with Your compassion. That have become willingly
ignorant of Your words, ‘Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature… And make disciples of all nations…’
Forgive us for our selfish ambition that overlooks the publican and the harlot
but seeks out the rich and the wealthy. O Lord we are backslidden! We have
forgotten your commandments! We have left our ‘first love.’ We have ceased
to do the first works! We have forgotten that You hide Yourself in the faces of
the ‘least of our brethren.’ That when we touch them, we touch You. Lord,
open our eyes to the world all around us. Open our hearts to the ones that lay
wasted, emancipated and beg for alms at the city gate. Let us offer not only our
money, but the power of Your Spirit to say to them, ‘RISE UP AND WALK!’ O
Lord restore to Your ministers a passion for prayer that they will emerge with a
message for these last days. Let us come down from the Mount of Transfiguration
with a revelation of Jesus Christ. O LORD SET US FREE FROM THE OCEAN OF RED TAPE
THAT DROWNS YOUR CHURCH IN LEGALISM AND TRADITIONALISM. FREE US FROM THAT SIN
THAT SO EASILY BESETS US CALLED RELIGION. PIOUS BUT POWERLESS.
God has called us to be His ambassadors! His missionaries! God forbid we stand
before Him someday with the same excuses as they did when they were invited to
the wedding feast! ‘I have married a wife!’ ‘I must tend to my field!’
‘I have bought five yoke of oxen!’ Only the words of Paul will give entrance
into Heaven! ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have
kept the faith…’
Ministry was not a form of gain or prosperity, but suffering and long nights in
the deep! They ‘carried the scars of Christ…’ They knew what it meant to
‘be abased and to abound.’ They had gained the wisdom of their Master, ‘to
be content with whatsoever state they were in.’ They were slaves of grace
chained to Christ… God give us a thousand times a thousand times a thousand
such saints! Marked by your love and grace, that have come from the mount and
seen Your face, that are determined to finish this race! (Luke 14:16-24)
A vanguard of men, women, and children are rising from the obscurity of church
to storm the earth with His love and power! Escaping from the confines of
religion and tradition, to give even their lives in the fields so white and
heavy with souls. Many of His children in the coming days will leave family,
friends and home, to never be seen again on this side of Heaven, to be poured
out as a drink offering for their Lord. He will send them Himself. The only
ordination they will carry is His Holy Spirit. The only validation, His power.
They will echo the words of Apostle Paul, ‘But I certify you, brethren, that
the gospel preached of me is not after man, for I neither received it of man,
neither was I taught it, BUT BY THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST…’ (Galatians
1:10-12)
They will stand in front of the skeptics with the words of Isaiah, ‘The Spirit
of the Lord God is upon me; because THE LORD HAS ANOINTED ME TO PREACH good
tiding to the poor, HE HAS SENT ME to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are
bound…’ They may be cast out, but they will in no way be forgotten. They may
be despised and envied now, but in eternity will their words and deeds be
recorded. A greater requirement is coming upon the Church in this hour. All of
our resources: land, buildings, and wealth, will be for the saving of souls and
reaching the nations. An introverted church will become an Open Door of
provision and power. Time is too short to ‘build bigger barns.’ There is no
retirement for the saint of God! Only to be ‘offered up as a living
sacrifice,’ ‘broken and contrite, which the Lord will not despise…’
These are the days He is calling for missionaries and ambassadors, preachers and
teachers, to take His power to the ends of the earth. JESUS STILL COMMANDS US TO
GO!
Here am I, Send me
O Lord, here am I, send me
I offer up my life as drink offering. Like David, to be poured out like water,
To desire nothing but the will of My Father
O Lord, here am I, send me
To help those in darkness, finally see. To set the captives free Grant pardon to
those in captivity
O Lord, here am I, send me
I pledge my head to Heaven, To the lowly help me condescend, To the poor I will
be a friend
Here am I, send me! I will go when others flee! To the alleys and the streets! O
Lord! Here am I! Send me!
Chad Taylor (10/13/99) Lamentations 2:19…
Consuming Fire Ministries
Email: lionheart@gci.net
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