Just what is the basic assignment of men and women of God in the earth?
Acts 10:41-42 – Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God . . . He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
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Stop right where you are, re-read our Text for Today, stop again, and think about what it says. Here is the answer to the question so often heard concerning ministers of the Gospel. What have we been called, assigned, empowered, equipped, and sent to do? And the answer . . . PREACH and TESTIFY. It’s really that simple. I fully realize that people set in different offices of the five-fold ministry, apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher, carry different anointings of service to the body of Christ, and that their role to the body is specifically established as “perfecting the saints.” While that role will be fulfilled through ministries with different appearances, the general focus should be the same, and it should all point to Jesus as Lord and Judge Advocate General of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is to that end that I offer you a word of awareness and potential alert today. In our present age, the tools, venues, and avenues of ministry exceed anything we have ever seen in the past. Today, one can minister, real-time, to untold numbers of people on an international scale without the need of passport, visa, expensive travel, and untold danger factors that exist in many parts of the world. Technology alone has made it possible for the work of the ministry to mount to new heights, dig to deeper levels, and invest more time than ever.
But the question arises today, just what is being dispensed by those engaged in what we call ministry? I urge you to examine all ministry to which you are exposed in the light of the following. Are they preaching the true and accurate Gospel of Jesus Christ, and are they testifying to the truth that Jesus Christ is indeed Lord and Eternal Judge? The judgment of that is really simple. First, to the element of preaching, we examine it in light of the Word. If it is the Gospel, it is “good news.” It is about drawing people to the Lord for Him to reign in their life as Lord, and to form a relationship that draws them closer to Him daily in fulfilling His will in their life. And what is their testimony? Does it point to the exalted Lordship of Jesus? Does it give irrefutable proof of Who He is and what He has done and will do? To testify, one offers evidence. Is there evidence that what they say is truth? When one truly PREACHES and TESTIFIES, people are drawn to Christ and evidence is presented. It’s that simple.
Manna for Today – Acts 10; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; Acts 1:8; John 20:21; John 14:12-17; John 15:8-16; Ephesians 4:11-1
My Second Miler by Dr. Beechard Moorefield 