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“And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters.”
Then Peter arose and went. “And the Spirit bade me go.” The Lord, Jesus Christ, had commanded the Apostles and disciples, all ministers and members in His Church to “go and preach the gospel”. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth” (Mark 1:38). “Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee” (Mark 5:19). “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). “Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:60). “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in” (Luke 14:21,23). “Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people ALL the words of this life” (Acts 5:20). No converted disciple or commissioned Apostle, no trustworthy minister or true member of His Church could have denied or disobeyed such a clear, compelling command of his Saviour, Lord and Master.
“And they went.” Apostles
and disciples, “they went”; ministers and members, “they went”; Disciples, Apostles, Witnesses, Nationals, they went to Disciple A Whole Nation. “And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them” (Matthew 21:6). “And they went out, and preached that men should repent” (Mark 6:12). “And they went forth, and preached everywhere” (Mark 16:20). “And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where” (Luke 9:6). “They that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). The command and commission of Christ must be studied again and obeyed afresh. Christ has commanded; and no other pursuit or program should hinder our obedience. We are to evangelize men, women and children in every town, city and nation. Preaching the gospel, calling sinners to repentance and faith in Christ, baptizing genuine converts, teaching and discipling true believers, we are to bring all true and obedient followers of Christ into the fellowship of His Church.
“Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria” (verse 31). “And
Peter passed throughout all quarters” (verse 32). The churches were planted and established in these regions but the commission was to “preach the gospel to every creature”, “teach all nations”, “that repentance and remission of sins be preached in His name among all nations” and that they be “witnesses unto Me unto the uttermost part of the earth”. Though some thousands had been converted and discipled, the many millions (and billions) who have not heard the gospel must be reached. The little which we have done is not an excuse to neglect the much which we have not done. We must keep going and keep evangelizing as Christ has commanded.
Giving the Great Commission, Jesus announced, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go
ye therefore”. We are to go with His power. “Teach all nations, baptizing them.” We are to go with purpose. “Lo, I am with you alway even unto the end of the world.” We are to go with His presence. The Apostles and the disciples faithfully committed themselves to the evangelization of all people in all nations in the whole world until “much people was added unto the Lord”, whole cities “turned to the Lord”, “many believed in the Lord”, “all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks”. We must never forget that the command to evangelize every city in every nation in the whole world is from the Lord, Jesus, Himself.
Thank God for such a message! This message definitely ignited holy ghost fire in me to GO! So convicting! May God help us to be obedient servants of His in obeying His command of evangelism in Jesus’ name.
Be blessed!
-Charity
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