What an interesting time we are living in! We can take this statement in a negative or positive light. We can say, “This world is falling apart! What is it coming to?” Or, if we know our Bible and wholly trust the Lord, and rest with, “This world is falling into place. It is coming to Jesus, eventually.” Thinking positively doesn’t mean that we turn a blind eye to the wickedness going on in the world. Instead, it helps us to remember and acknowledge God’s ever-present control and goodness. We know the world is in a downward spiral, as the Bible teaches, and that one day, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10). God knew before the foundations of the world all that would take place. Someone asked, “Has it ever occurred to you that nothing has ever occurred to God?” Throughout His Word, we are reminded of His omniscience.
It is easy to get discouraged from all the chaos taking place. We can get to dwelling upon the “good ol’ days” or wish we were born in a different era that we may think was a simpler time. But that is an affront to God because He has created us for the time that we are in right now. Uncle Mordecai told his niece, Esther, “Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” At that time, God placed Esther as King Ahasuerus's wife (known in our history as King Xerxes) to persuade her husband to spare her people, the Jews, from Haman’s heinous plan to hang them all. Little did he know that he built those gallows for himself (Esther 7:10). Likewise, we were born for such a time as this to be a witness and plead with people to get saved before it’s too late. Of course, I don’t mean manipulating people to obtain salvation. We must allow the Holy Spirit to do His part. We do the preaching while He does the convicting and drawing. We must not forget that.
We are also placed for such a time as this to encourage our fellow brethren. Some have neglected God’s purpose for their life. They are satisfied with this “fire insurance.” They will not verbalize to others the same good news that changed their lives. They depend upon lifestyle evangelism, as though the blessed gospel is extended via osmosis! But that is not obeying the Great Commission. Jesus told us to preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). The word “preach” means “to be as a herald.” Heralds were assigned to bring the king’s message to the people shouting, “Hear ye, hear ye!” They proclaimed the king’s decree. They didn’t deliver with hushed tones or whispers. To do that is to run the risk of disallowing multitudes from hearing the blessed message that Jesus saves. I believe that no two people have the same number of people in their sphere of influence; you and I don’t necessarily run into the same people.
I’m sure some had seen Paul and heard him preach, but not Barnabas or Apollos, and vice versa. We ought to preach with boldness. No, not with pomp and pride. But with meekness and fear, as stated in 1 Peter 3:15. Meekness is synonymous with humility. Then, with fear because without salvation, people will go to Hell. You can be afraid of that or of getting embarrassed. If the latter, you will then be ashamed if that person dies never knowing the Savior. If we remain silent or only speak when we are comfortable, the world will not think that salvation is that important. If we knew the cure for cancer and kept it to ourselves, the world would call us cruel. To withhold the gospel from anyone is crueler still.
Let’s encourage each other to preach the gospel. Let’s “work for the night is coming,” as the hymn-writer said. Many are in distress. We have an answer to the lost sinners’ distresses: our Blessed Hope!
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