Luke 7: 18 The disciples of John the Baptist told John about everything Jesus was doing. So John called for two of his disciples, 19 and he sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” 20 John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to him, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’”
21 At that very time, Jesus cured many people of their diseases, illnesses, and evil spirits, and he restored sight to many who were blind. 22 Then he told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” 23 And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.
The followers of John the Baptist told John about everything Jesus was doing so he sent two of them to go and find Jesus. They found Jesus and asked Him if He was the Messiah. Jesus told them all that He was doing and all about the miracles He was performing and Jesus told them to go report back with all of that information. Along with the information about the miracles Jesus also told them to report that the Good News is being preached to the poor. In the scripture above it said HE ADDED this God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.
John was doubting that it was Jesus he was hearing about and wanted to make sure of it. Jesus' confirmation of His mission by telling the Good News was being preached was enough to reassure John's doubts and help him realize that Jesus was about the Father's work. Are there times when you doubt Jesus is still working? Sometimes we hear of revival breaking out somewhere and we may have doubts that it is the Lord. It is always good to confirm that in that revival the Good News is being preached. Why? Because it is the reason Jesus came and died on the cross, was buried, and rose again. The power is in the message, and for those who have been born-again the message is life. Paul wrote about the importance of the message and not the importance of the messenger in 1 Corinthians 15:11 So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.
Billy Graham was a great servant of God, but Bill Graham was not the important part of all those lives being changed. It was the message, the Good News. That mission first began with Jesus and continues to stay alive through the followers of Jesus. The power is not in the message of salvation, which makes every person who has Jesus a part of the mission. We are a conduit of that message and God empowers us through the Holy Spirit to share that message by our life and our words and it is God who has the increase. We have Almighty Evidence of Jesus in our lives and that message will continue to be shared by all who know Jesus. It is who we are!!
The Pilgrimage Continues,
David Warren
Comments