And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand! Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
Many churches today are discovering new ways of reaching into the community – coffee shops, ‘messy church’, soup kitchens, and debt counselling – all great ideas in themselves and wonderful ways for Christians to express their love for those around them, but we mustn’t lose sight of Jesus’ original command to His disciples.
When Jesus sent out the disciples, He gave them the Holy Spirit so that they could do all the things that He did. They had heard Him teaching, watched Him healing people and casting out demons, and now it was their turn to do the same. It must have been an anxious time for them until they actually stepped out in faith and discovered that it works! They came back excited and rejoicing (Luke 10: 17). Through the power and authority that Jesus offered to them, they were able to heal the sick and cast out demons and later we know that they also raised the dead (Acts 9:40; 20:9-10).
Paul tells us that the same power that was used to raise Jesus from the dead is available for us today (Ephesians 1:19-20). Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, as well as doing all the things mentioned above, all our churches were also fully involved in the Great Commission?
Prayer: Dearest Father, Your heart is so much for the hurting and broken ones in our society. I pray that You will help me to reach out to them with the healing, comfort and love of Jesus, in and through His precious Name, Amen.