Would it matter to you if someone sent you an important message — maybe the most important in your life — and year after year the urgent message was never delivered?”
In 1949 John Currier was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Later he was transferred to work on a farm near Nashville, Tennessee. In 1968, Currier’s sentence was terminated, and a letter bearing the good news was sent to him. But John never saw the letter, nor was he told anything about it. Life on that farm was hard and without promise for the future. Yet John kept doing what he was told even after the farmer for whom he worked had died. Ten years went by. Then a state parole officer learned about Currier’s plight, found him, and told him that his sentence had been terminated. He was a free man.
An even more tragic story is about Henry Fiutcher. At 11pm on April 11, 1902 Missouri governor Dockery sent a 10-day temporary reprieve of his hanging to investigate some newly discovered evidence. The telegraph was received 35 minutes too late to prevent his hanging.
Christians have a message of forgiveness, salvation and blessing. Those who believe and receive this message are not only relieved of the guilt and condemnation of their sin, they are made children of God. We who have heard the good news and experienced freedom and new life in Christ are responsible to proclaim it to others still enslaved by sin.
The last thing Jesus told His disciples was to spread the good news of the Gospel. No one in the world should not hear this message. In Mark 16:15-18 we discover two method of communicating this message.
PREACH
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”
It is the duty of the church, and that means that it is the duty of every Christian, to tell the story of the good news of Jesus to those who have never heard it. The Christian duty is to be the herald of Jesus.
HEAL
“…they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
During His earthly ministry, Jesus cared for the physical diseases of the people around Him. He demands His followers to pursue the good health of the sick. This concern is not limited physical health. Christianity is concerned with holistic health – physical health and mental health. Jesus wished to bring health to the body and health to the soul.
Now what do we have to help us with these two great tasks? As we study the latter portion of Mark 16:15-18, we understand that we are not to be snake handlers or drink poison. But at the back of this is the conviction that the church and those of us who are part of His church are filled with a power to cope with life that others do not possess. God has given us a power that we need to continue to tap into – for ourselves and to be a blessing and guide to others.
Also, Jesus did not leave us alone to do His work. Always Christ works with us and in us and through us. The Lord of the church is still in the church and is still the Lord of power. Jesus said, “I will build my church.” Let’s let Him work through us.
A lighthouse keeper worked on a rocky stretch of coastline and received his new supply of oil once a month to keep the light burning. Not being far from shore, he had frequent guests. One night a woman from the village begged some oil to keep her family warm. Another time a father asked for some to use in his lamp. Another needed some to lubricate a wheel. Since all the requests seemed legitimate, the lighthouse keeper tried to please everyone and granted them all. Toward the end of the month he noticed that the supply of oil was very low. Soon, it was gone, and the beacon light went out. That night several ships were wrecked and lives were lost. When the authorities investigated, the man was very repentant. To his excuses and pleading their reply was: “You were given the oil for one purpose – to keep that light burning.”
You, as a believer, are a lighthouse. All around us are lost people. Their lives are in crisis, because they are lost. We must be a light to bring them to Jesus. Some people change their ways when they see the light; others only when they feel the heat.